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On top I built with baked bricks and bitumen a great hall to be the lofty seat of my kingship, and I joined it to the palace of my father. In a favorable month, on a suitable day, I laid its foundations on the base of the underworld and raised its top high up like a mountain range. I completed the work on the fifteenth day and perfected the seat of my rule.

There are unmistakable echoes between this account and that of Berossos: both emphasize the height and general opulence of Nebuchadnezzar’s palace, point out that it adjoins that of Nebuchadnezzar’s father, and claim that the building work was completed in precisely 15 days. Berossos evidently knew Nebuchadnezzar’s inscription and followed it faithfully. He did, however, introduce some new elements. Here is how his text continues (BNJ 680 F 8a (141)):

ἐν δὲ τοῖς βασιλείοις τούτοις ἀναλήμματα λίθινα ὑψηλὰ ἀνοικοδομήσας, καὶ τὴν ὄψιν ἀποδοὺς ὁμοιοτάτην τοῖς ὄρεσι, καταφυτεύσας δένδρεσι παντοδαποῖς, ἐξειργάσατο καὶ κατεσκεύασε τὸν καλούμενον κρεμαστὸν παράδεισον διὰ τὸ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ ἐπιθυμεῖν τῆς ὀρείας διαθέσεως, <ὡς> τεθραμμένην ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὴν Μηδίαν τόποις.