Were there any hanging gardens and why were they named in honor of Semiramis?

There is an ancient legend that King Nebuchadnezzar II, deciding to please his wife Amittis, ordered the construction of a large scale structure in Babylon, consisting of terraces and ledges, on which trees were planted in a specially planted soil. Fruits, flowers and greens created an atmosphere of bliss, reminding the Queen of the homeland, Media, in a dusty and noisy state. Documentary evidence of this fact does not exist, although there is a lot of information about the city itself. The fact that the hanging gardens in Babylon existed are mainly spoken of by Herodotus, who lived, however, much later than the events described by him.

The Babylonian walls were high, but it is assumed that the structure was well visible behind them. Judging by the description of Herodotus, it went up a hundred meters. Construction technology of the time did not assume the movement of huge stone blocks to a high altitude, but the ancient architects, apparently, managed to solve this task and delivered the blocks. To make the design of maximum aesthetics, the tiling with a tile with a relief pattern of turquoise and golden yellow color was applied. The vaults were supported by columns, which at that time was a revolutionary technology for such massive buildings. Thanks to them, this masterpiece of ancient architecture is known as "hanging gardens".

Special attention should be paid to the irrigation system and waterproofing, without which the entire structure would lose all meaning. Found in the excavations of the remains of the foundation of an unknown but truly gigantic structure, there were holes in which, supposedly, Archimedes' screws were placed , that is, the screws transporting water from the Euphrates River to the upper levels and powered by muscular force. Leakage of moisture prevented the lead plates, laid between the bricks. Such complex and unusual for the seventh century BC compositions seem fantastic even today. Many skeptics in general doubt that hanging gardens have ever existed. Other historians doubt the place of their location. Thus, some researchers argue that such a structure could be built by the Assyrian king Sennacherib in the period from 705 to 681 BC. On the banks of the Tigris, and the rumor attributed this achievement to the ancient Babylon.

There are, however, facts that speak in favor of the truthfulness of the beautiful ancient legend. In 1899, archaeologist Robert Koldewey found remains of an ancient structure of colossal proportions in the place where this ancient city was located. The German scientist suggested that the foundations he found were the foundation of the Tower of Babel and something else very large. Having proved the existence of biblical Babylon, he put forward the hypothesis that there were hanging gardens.

Even if we accept this version as the basis for further research, the name adopted to designate one of the wonders of the world remains a mystery. What is the relation of the hanging gardens of the Semiramis in Babylon to Shammuramat, the founder of this city-state that lived in the 9th century BC, that is, two centuries before the period of hypothetical construction of this complex engineering system serving to delight the regal Nebuchadnezzar and Amitissa? Perhaps, even then there was a tradition to call the objects built in honor of famous people? And yet, according to the research and measurements of Koldewey, the dimensions of terraces are greatly exaggerated, although they still remain impressive.