Department of Architecture

College of Environmental Design

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

Module 3: Architecture of the Ancient Near East

 

 

Architecture of the Civilization

Sumerian architecture

Introduction

In around 4500 BC, the southern region of ancient Mesopotamia made the transition from prehistory with the rise of the Sumerian civilization. The Sumerians established an irrigation system that enabled them to produced food necessary to sustain an urban culture. They were skilled in metal craft and also invented the cuneiform system of writing. The major cities of the Sumerian civilization included Kish, Uruk (Warka) and Ur. The Sumerians were also the first culture to make a conscious attempt at the design of public buildings. Mud was the principal building material of the Sumerians. Mud was formed into brick, sun dried and built into massive walls using earth mortar. The building method used was appropriate to the material of construction. Walls were thick to compensate for the structural weakness of mud and were reinforced with buttresses. Because mud could not be used for lintel, spaces were narrow and oblong and were covered with vaults. To disguise the lack of attraction of mud and also protect it from the weather, the Sumerians plastered and whitewashed the walls of their buildings and colored it with different patterns. Alternating buttresses and recesses was also used to relieve the monotony of their plastered facades. Gate ways were flanked by high towers. Temples were the principal building type and these were raised on brick platforms called ziggurats. Next we will examine the house and temple forms.

 

House Form

In Ur, we find the clearest example of the cities of the ancient Near East. The cities were enclosed in walls with the Ziggurat complex and palace as the center of the city. The fabric of the city is made up of residences mixed with commercial and industrial buildings interspaced within them. The houses were densely packed with narrow streets between them. Streets were fronted by courtyard house of one story high. The streets were usually punctuated by narrow openings that serve as entrances to the courtyard houses. 

 

 

 

Architectural Monuments- Temples

Temples were the principal architectural monuments of Sumerian cities. The temples consisted of city and chief temples. The temples were believed to be portals through which god might pass on his visit to earth. We will examine two examples of chief temples, White temple at Uruk (Warka) and Great Ziggurate at ur, and one example of a city temple, the Oval temple at Khafaje.

 

White temple Uruk (also called warka in arabic)

Uruk was a major Sumerian city by 3300 BC, covering an area of about 2 square kilometers with a population of about 40,000. The modern name of Iraq is derived from the name Uruk. The White temple located at Uruk was built around 3000 BC. It is an example of the earliest development of the Sumerian temple and ziggurat. The temple is placed on a great mound of earth called the ziggurat rising more than 12meters above the ground. The slopped walls of the ziggurat were had diagonal flutings, and the four corners of the ziggurat were also oriented towards the cardinal points. The temple is rectangular in shape and made up of mud brick. On the long side of the temple were rooms oblong in shape and vaulted. An Alter and offering table was located at the middle of the building in the sanctuary. The temple has imposing doorways located at its either end, but worshippers to the temple enter through a side room. The temple walls were thick with buttresses, creating wall niches and reveal. A series of sophisticated stepped levels and staircases lead to the entrance of the temple. Externally it was white plastered making it visible for miles in the landscape.

 

   

 

Great Ziggurat at Ur

Ur was a Sumerian city located near the mouth of the Euphrates River. The city was a thriving city by around 2600 BC when it was also considered sacred to Nnanna the moon god in Sumerian mythology. The great ziggurat at Ur was built during the period 2113-2048 BC by the ruler Urnammu on the ruins of previous temples and incorporating remains of earlier structures. The temple is dedicated to the moon good Nnanna. The temple was constructed of mud bricks reinforced with thin layers of matting and cables of twisted reeds. The Ziggurat was located in a temple complex. The complex comprised of the ziggurat and its court, a secondary court attached to it called the court of Nannar. The king is also the chief priest of the temple and he has his residence close to the temple. A triple stairway with heavy bastions leads to the summit of the first stage, where one passed through a portal, perhaps covered by a dome. A fourth stairway gave access to the second and third stages. Nothing in reality remains of the top and what is shown in the reconstruction is hypothetical. The Ziggurat temple was essentially a place for the worship of a good. In Sumerian mythology, ziggurat as mountains united the heavens and the earth. So Gods would come down to earth to the temple located on the ziggurat and pass instructions to the chief priest. The ziggurat temple is also held to be the location of a holy wedding between god and a woman of his choice. People also climb the mountains to achieve a holy experience and get closer to god. Because war was also common in the region, the temple evolved as a place of last resort, where people could flee to when their city is under attack. The mountain offered them a high position where they are protected and can defend themselves from attack by their enemies.

 

 

Oval Temple at Khafaje

The oval temple at khafaje (2600 BC) is an example of the second Sumerian temple type, the city temple. City temples are usually dedicated to lower gods and they are built closer to the living space of the city. The temple at Khafaje is named oval because of the massive oval walls surrounding it. Being located within the city, the emphasis in its organization is different. Emphasis in planning is on enclosing spaces within courtyards to create islands of peace from a busy city. The temple is raised on a simple platform and was enclosed in an oval shaped inner courtyard. Within the courtyard are found wells and basins for ablution, as well as workshops, bakeries, and storage rooms arranged on four sides. An outer enclosure wall was extended to protect a priestly residence with its own chapel. The inner courtyard had offering tables and showed evidence of animal sacrifices.