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Although the story of the Tower of Babel is often thought to be purely a myth, there are archaeological indications that a tower really existed, in the glorious city of Babylon (the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in what is now modern Iraq).

Babylon was one of a number of cities built by a succession of peoples that lived on the plain starting around 5,000 years ago. Archaeologists examining the remains of the city of Babylon have found what appears to be the foundation of the Tower of Babel: a square of earthen embankments three-hundred feet long on each side. Believed to have been originally constructed by Nimrod, the tower's most impressive incarnation was probably under King Nebuchadnezzar II (605-562 BC), who apparently rebuilt the tower to stand 295 feet high. According to an inscription made by the king, the tower was constructed of "baked brick enameled in brilliant blue." The terraces of the tower may have also been planted with flowers and trees.

Construction would not have been easy. The area lacks the stone deposits the Egyptians used, and the local wood is mostly palm, so the Babylonians used what they had in abundance: mud and straw bricks, baked in the sun to create enduring clay bricks. There was also a new construction material: bitumen tar, or asphalt, was in abundance as a result of the distillation of massive peat fields, forests, and other organic materials covered by sediment during the great Flood.

The tower was a pyramidal form, consisting of square towers gradually decreasing in breadth. A winding ascent along the outside was so very broad as to allow horses and carriages to pass each other, and even to turn. At the apex was an altar where sacrifices were offered to the sun god. Yet the tower was only one of the marvels of the city, in addition to the Hanging Gardens and superb palaces.

According to ancient history, there were several attempts in the following centuries to repair the ruins of the tower. The last major effort was by Nebuchadnezzar II, who called his temple tower "Etemenanki", meaning "the foundation of heaven and earth."

The final beginning of the end of the Tower of Babel began around 478 BC. The city had been taken over by the Persian King Xerxes who crushed a rebellion there that year. The tower was neglected and crumbled. After Alexander the Great conquered the Persians, he also planned to rebuild the tower, and most of the debris had been removed in preparation for its reconstruction when he died.