First, in ancient Mesopotamia the monumental building device built to communicate with the higher gods was called a ziggurat. A ziggurat is a huge set of three staircases that form a tower connected to the temple. Each ziggurat was part of a temple complex that included many buildings. Ziggurats were not places of public worship but rather the homes of the gods, with each city having a patron god. At the top of each ziggurat there was a shrine, however sadly no shrine has survived. In practice, the ziggurat offered priests an elevated place to escape floods and also provided security. Since the temple and shrines could only be accessed from one of the three staircases located in the ziggurat, a small group of guards was sufficient protection. Its materiality consisted mainly of sun-baked bricks and baked bricks for the exterior. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Secondly, in Indian Buddhism the monumental device built to communicate with the higher gods was called a stupa. Stupas are the origin of Asian pagodas and are monumental buildings. A stupa is a hemispherical structure, containing relics, and was used primarily for meditation. It features stairs (Sopanas) similar to the ziggurat but not on such a large scale as there were only one or two sets instead of the three that ziggurats boast of. A stupa is often surrounded by railings (Vedika) and doors (Torana). Stupas are built primarily of stone, and earlier versions were built of baked bricks and wood. The only common material in stupas and ziggurats was therefore fired bricks. Finally, the differences in shape and structure are shown by the fact that the stupas are centralized in design and circular in shape, populated by columns arranged to surround the structure both in a rectangular shape and along the sides to focus attention on the space in the center , while ziggurats are rectangular shapes in plan with the focal point residing at the top of the stairs on a given side rather than directly in the center. However, both stupas and ziggurats are surrounded by other buildings. Stupas are generally surrounded by courtyards, just as ziggurats are surrounded by living spaces or an entire city. Both stupas and ziggurats have open spaces used to display religious artifacts. One of the main functions of both of these building structures is to display these artifacts, be they relics or shrines. Both buildings are used as markers of a sacred place.