Palace of Bel-Shalti-Nanna

The Neo Babylonian remains of a large royal palace located on the northeast side of the ancient harbor were uncovered during Woolley’s ninth season. It was the residential quarters of Princess Ennigaldi, also known as Bel-Shalti-Nanna, the entu-priestess who was the daughter of King Nabonidus. Woolley found the site littered with loose bricks stamped with the king’s name, the building  made of mud and baked brick would have measured 96 meters long and 94 meters wide, and contained a maze of 80 rooms, chambers and courtyards of differing sizes, some with staircases. A Neo-Babylonian temple of a solid rectangular shape measuring 33 meters by 37 meters was at one time connected by a causeway to the south side of the palace, which Woolley named The Harbor Temple, the temple consisted of a total of 10 rooms including the sanctuary, the oracle chamber, the pronaos and naos (the porch and inner chamber where worship took place), a forecourt, and service chambers.