A show about engineering failures and disasters. We examine the technical, human and organisational causes of failure, and explore why our decision-making is not nearly as rational as we’d like to think.
http://www.bradyheywood.com.au/
episode 14: Hanging Garden of Babylon
Did the Hanging Garden of Babylon actually exist or was it myth?
And why bother talking about it in this podcast?
Because apart from whether or not the Garden existed, or more importantly where it was located, the story of its history is fascinating.
But even more fascinating is the extraordinary engineering achievement that may have underpinned its very existence.
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A sketch of the Garden, as well as the bas relief depicting the garden at Ninevah, can be found here: http://www.archeolog-home.com/pages/content/ninive-iraq-the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon.html
A detailed account of the discovery of the ruins at Jerwan can be found here: https://oi.uchicago.edu/sites/oi.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/shared/docs/oip24.pdf
A link to Dr Dalley's book can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Mystery-Hanging-Garden-Babylon-Elusive/dp/0198728840/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Details of Jason Ur's work on declassified satellite imagery can be found here: http://scholar.harvard.edu/jasonur/pages/hollow-ways-0
My article on the subject can be found in The Structural Engineer magazine here: https://www.istructe.org/journal/volumes/volume-94-(2016)/issue-7/engineering-the-hanging-garden-of-babylon
This show is produced in collaboration with Wavelength Creative. Visit wavelengthcreative.com for more information.