Earth structures

A ziggurat (; Cuneiform: 𒅆𒂍𒉪, Akkadian: ', D-stem of ' 'to protrude, to build high', cognate with other Semitic languages like Hebrew zaqar (זָקַר) 'protrude') is a type of massive structure built in ancient Mesopotamia and Iran. It has the form of a terraced compound of successively receding stories or levels. Notable ziggurats include the Great Ziggurat of Ur near Nasiriyah, the Ziggurat of Aqar Quf near Baghdad, the no longer extant Etemenanki in Babylon, Chogha Zanbil in Khūzestān and Sialk. The Sumerians believed that the gods lived in the temple at the top of the ziggurats, so only pr

thumb|right|A gas main being laid in a trench A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).

thumb|New, unlaid mudbricks in the Jordan Valley (Middle East)|Jordan Valley, [[West Bank Palestine, 2011]] right|thumb|Mudbrick was used for the construction of Elamite [[ziggurats—some of the world's largest and oldest constructions. Choqa Zanbil, a 13th-century BCE ziggurat in Iran, is similarly constructed from clay bricks combined with burnt bricks.]]

Chinese rural dwellings and a world heritage site

technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls by compacting a damp mixture of sub soil

building technique using woven wooden supports packed with clay or mud

turf house used in early colonial North America

building surrounded by earth

Semi-subterranean building

building or other structure made largely from soil