Pale tufted plants line massive rising terraces, evoking but predating the hanging gardens of Babylon.

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Hillah is the modern location of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the hanging gardens of Babylon.

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No tablet has yet proved the existence of the Tower of Babel or the Hanging Gardens, although Mr Finkel has a complete inventory of Babylonian flora.

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His 1993 Organic Building in Osaka, Japan its facade sprouting with a grid of planters predated today's hanging gardens and living walls, and his 1969 Up5 chair is among the 20th century's most instantly recognizable pieces.

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Soldiers from the U.S. 101st Airborne Division secured the central Iraqi city of Hillah, south of Baghdad, site of the ancient Hanging Gardens of Babylon, reported CNN Correspondent Ryan Chilcote, who is embedded with the unit.

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