Which structural risk increased during the iterative construction of Mesopotamian ziggurats due to the layered mud brick design?

💡 Explanation

When ziggurats were expanded in stages, differential settlement occurred because newly-added layers compressed underlying older layers unevenly depending on the varied compact. Therefore cracking appeared in the structure, earlier than wind erosion, thermal buckling, or seismic amplified that may need other conditions.

• Which risk increases when Roman road construction deviates substantially from standard practice?
• Which benefit did the 'chinampa' system provide for Aztec agriculture in Tenochtitlan's marshy environment?
• Which risk increased when 18th-century shipbuilders transitioned from predominantly frame-first to hull-first methods?
• Which approach did Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra enable surveyors to accurately determine land area when parcel shapes are irregular polygons?
• Which limitation constrained the accuracy of dead reckoning navigation before Harrison's chronometer?
• Which risk increases when an astrolabe's altitude scale is calibrated using an inaccurate local horizon height?