Over the years I’ve tried to pass off a few stepped pyramids as ziggurats. So I figured it was finally time to end this trend with something akin to the real thing. To start off the process, I pulled out a pad of isometric paper and a straight edge and drew out an external plan of the structure in question. This was particularly weird for me as I have never used a straight edge in the six years I’ve been drawing maps for the blog. But it was kind of necessary to get this piece to work:

Now, the person who wanted the ziggurat also wanted it to be mostly buried in sand since it has been mostly abandoned for untold ages. Which brings us these pair of drawings – one of the upper parts sticking out of the sands, and one of the two images superimposed.

Ziggurat – superimposed

From these shots I started working on the interior maps which are broken up into three levels. The uppermost level is the “main entrance” which required walking up a LOT of stairs back when the zigurat wasn’t buried in the sands.

Not a lot on this uppermost level – just the hollow uppermost levels of the two front spires with spiral stairs down into the interior, and the main entrance which is a large chamber that splits into two stairways down into the interior of the pyramid and a small secret chamber between them.

Just a bit of a tease of the further maps of the two other interior levels which I will be posting on Friday.