MODULE 1: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS Barbaric Splendour 1 Kalaa Sghrira, Tunisia

MODULE 1: THE FIRST CIVILIZATIONS

Barbaric Splendour

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Kalaa Sghrira, Tunisia

“civis”: dweller of a cityThe story of Architecture begins with the

story of Civilization, when nomadic peoples established settlements.

Module 1 Architectural History2

Learner Outcomes of Module 1 Know the four old-world River Valley Cultures

http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mvigeant/univ270_05/jake_aq/history.htm

Learner Outcomes of Module 1 Differentiate the different characteristics of the

culture and architecture of the Mesopotamian vs. Egyptians

Learner Outcomes of Module 1

Know the first four periods of the history of Egypt unified under Menes

Learner Outcomes of Module 1

Be able to identify tombs, temples built in each period

Temple of Horus, Edfu

Learner Outcomes of Module 1

Understand the natural phenomena which facilitated the development of surveying

The invention of Agriculture changed the way people lived.

Agriculture (Farming)

Growth of Cities

Division of Labor (Specialization)

Trade

Writing and Mathematics

Origins and Spread of Agriculture

http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mvigeant/univ270_05/jake_aq/history.htm

• Sumerian Civilization - Tigris & Euphrates Rivers (Mesopotamia)• Egyptian Civilization - Nile River

• Harappan Civilization - Indus River• Ancient China - Huang He (Yellow) River

Four old-world River Valley Cultures

Early River Valley Civilizations

•Flooding of Tigris and Euphrates unpredictable•No natural barriers•Limited natural resources for making tools or buildings

Environment

Sumer

Egypt

Indus Valley

China

•Flooding of the Nile predictable•Nile an easy transportation link between Egypt’s villages

•Deserts were natural barriers

• Indus flooding unpredictable•Monsoon winds•Mountains, deserts were natural barriers

•Huang He flooding unpredictable•Mountains, deserts natural barriers•Geographically isolated from other ancient civilizations

Mesopotamia

ZigguratsZiggurats

No one knows for certain why ziggurats were built or how they were used. They are

part of temple complexes, so they were probably connected with religion.

Mesopotamia “the land between the rivers”

From ~5500 to 539 BC hub of the world

Fertile because of massive irrigation works

Common building material sun-baked mud brick

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Mesopotamia “the land between the rivers”

Cuneiform writing wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets

The planning and architecture of cities was closely related to the civic and religious organization

Early use of bronze in artistic artefactsCities were surrounded by thick, fortress-like

walls

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The Fertile Crescent

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The Map of MesopotamiaMap of the Akkadian dynasty (2340 - 2180 BC

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Map of the Babylonian dynasty (2000 -323 BC)

The Map of Assyria (1350 - 612 BC)

Cuneiform

What impact did writing had in the development of civilization and architecture?

The Development of Written Language (1:42)The ancient Sumerians began to

document their activities by drawing pictures that represented words. Eventually, these pictures became symbols that were easier and faster to write

http://videos.howstuffworks.com/hsw/8812-mesopotamia-the-development-of-written-language-video.htm

What impact did writing had in the development of civilization and architecture?

Evolution of Cuneiform Words

The top of the Hamurabi stele shows the king worshipping before a seated god.

Detail of part of the inscription on the stele of Hamurabi's code

Hammurabi’s Code - 1792 BC

http://library.thinkquest.org/20176/hammurabis_code.htm?tqskip1=1&tqtime=1023

Hammurabi’s Code 229.   If a builder build a house for some one, and

does not construct it properly, and the house which he built fall in and kill its owner, then that builder shall be put to death.

230.   If it kill the son of the owner the son of that builder shall be put to death.

231.   If it kill a slave of the owner, then he shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house.

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http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/hammurabi_law201-250.htm

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Mesopotamian Cities

With a relatively steady supply of food, a surplus of goods and human energy allowed the construction of ever larger cities– grain [new] was grown; – surplus was stored in clay pottery vessels [new]; – communal storage of surplus grain required the

development of writing and numbers [new]

PEOPLE from MESOPOTAMIA & PERSIA

http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/whistory_units1.htmhttp://www.fotolibra.com/gallery/32487/ziggurat-mesopotamia/

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The Ancient Near East

Khirokitia

Model of the city of Babylon

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/whistory_units1.htm

Model of the city of BabylonArtist’s Sketch

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Istar Gate and Processional Way

Ishtar Gate

the Gate was constructed of blue glazed tiles with alternating rows of bas-relief sirrush (dragons) and aurochs.

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Ishtar gate of Babylon built by Nebuchadnezzar II (604 - 562 BC) now in the Staatsmuseum, Museum Berlin, Germany

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Wall of Hanging gardens of Babylon still standing

Marduk’s Dragon

One of the dragons from the gate

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An Auroch above a flower ribbon, missing tiles are replaced

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Building inscription of King Nebuchadnezzar II

Isometric artist's reconstruction of the Temple Oval at Khafajah, Iraq as it may have looked around 2700 B.C.Hamilton D. Darby, Pencil and charcoal on paper1934 P. 24174f/N. 12990/London # 14/S. 4796

The temple is surrounded by sturdily built mud-brick homes which were packed closely together along the narrow, winding city streets.

The thick walls of the houses provided good insulation against the elements, and flat rooftops provided extra living space.

A reconstruction drawing of the citadel of Khorsabad, now in Iraq, as it may have appeared in the time of Sargon II (721–705 BC). Drawing by Charles Altman.

Reconstruction drawing

of the citadel of Sargon II, Dar Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad) Iraq

ca. 720-705 B.C.E.

Winged bull with a human head, guardian figure from the gate of the palace at Dur Sharrukin, near Nineveh; in the Louvre.

Mesopotamia

Assyrian decoration stone figure of humanoid with wings

White Temple and ziggurat

Uruk (modern Warka) Iraq

ca. 3,200-3,000 B.C.E.mud brick

White Temple and ziggurat

Uruk (modern Warka) Iraq

ca. 3,200-3,000 B.C.E.mud brick

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Çatal Hüyük, Turkey

Existed from approximately 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE. It is the largest and best preserved Neolithic site found to date. [Discovered 1961]

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Çatal Hüyük, Turkey

Reconstruction

Phases in use & Rebuilding

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Çatal Hüyük, Turkey

Interior Reconstruction

Khirokitia (sometimes spelled Choirokoitia)

A Neolithic walled village occupied from 7000 BCE to 4000 BCE. Between 300 – 600 people lived on subsistence farming and herding. Round buildings between 1.6 and 4.8 m in diameter with domed roofs.

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Babylon 2000 to 600 BCMain buildings and temples raised above

rest of the city allocated to special gods. [Assumption: gods lived on mountains]

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Marduk Temple

BabylonLife for the upper echelon was quite

luxurious: artefacts of gold, silver, lapis lazuli (from India) and shell.

reconstructed hanging gardens

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Think outside the box

Stretch Break!!

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Drawing of the zigurat at Ur: the moon-god Nanna

By 4000 B.C. large temples were being built in Mesopotamian towns on top of mud-brick platforms.

Temples were originally built on platforms. During the third millennium B.C., these were made higher and bigger.

By 4000 B.C. large temples were being built in Mesopotamian towns on top of mud-brick platforms.

Eventually it was decided to build even higher temples on platforms which were stepped. These stepped towers we call ziggurats.

By 4000 B.C. large temples were being built in Mesopotamian towns on top of mud-brick platforms.

By 2000 B.C. mud-brick ziggurats were being constructed in many Sumerian cities. Later, ziggurats were constructed in Babylonian and Assyrian cities.

By 4000 B.C. large temples were being built in Mesopotamian towns on top of mud-brick platforms.

Archaeologists discovered one of the oldest at Eridu. They thought it must have been a temple because they found the remains of burnt fish which had been left as offerings.

By 4000 B.C. large temples were being built in Mesopotamian towns on top of mud-brick platforms.

Over hundreds of years the temple was rebuilt on the remains of previous buildings, and so the platform grew in size.

Ziggurat at Ur

2100 BC

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Ziggurat

at Ur (modern Tell Muqayyar) Iraq

ca. 2,100 B.C.E.mud brick

The north-east side of the ziggurat with the workmen on the stairs.

The south-east corner of the ziggurat after excavation.

Staircase

The Ziggurat of UrAround 2100 B.C. king Ur-Nammu built a ziggurat in honour of the god Sin in the city of Ur. It was called 'Etemennigur', which means 'House whose foundation creates terror'.

Staircase

This staircase runs up the side of the ziggurat. Possibly only priests were allowed to climb these steps to get to the higher stages of the ziggurat.

This staircase runs directly up the front of the ziggurat.

The three staircases on the front of the ziggurat came together at a gate.

Gate

Mud-brickThe core of Ur-Nammu's ziggurat was made of mud-bricks.

This brick was stamped with the name and title of Ur-Nammu, the king who ordered the ziggurat built. Most bricks used to build the ziggurat were stamped. Somebody had the job of stamping the damp bricks.

Each of Ur-Nammu's mud-bricks measured about 25 x 16 x 7 cm and weighed about 4.5 kg. Almost 7,000,000 mud-bricks would have been used to build the first stage of the ziggurat.

After about every sixth layer of mud-brick, a layer of reeds was placed on top of the mud-bricks in a criss-cross pattern.

How were baked bricks made?Clay was pressed into moulds. When the clay was dry, the bricks were turned

out. They were stacked together with gaps between them.

On each level of the ziggurat there was a terrace covered in baked brick.

Terrace

Two vertical drains made of baked brick were built on the sides of the ziggurat. These drains carried rain water away from the ziggurat.

Drains

Weeper holes

Small holes were left in the ziggurat to allow water to evaporate from the core. The archaeologist C. Leonard Woolley called these 'weeper' holes. Each weeper hole was lined with baked bricks.

TempleMany archaeologists believe that there was a temple on the highest terrace of the ziggurat.

This glazed brick was found at Ur. It may have come from the temple which stood on the highest terrace of the ziggurat.

On either side of the main staircase was a buttress.

Buttress

The Ziggurat of Ur todayIn the 1960's and 1970's, the first stage of the ziggurat was reconstructed by the Iraqi Department of Antiquities.

http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/whistory_units1.htm

http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/whistory_units1.htm

Ziggurat at Ur Tablets found with temple hymns, myths and

histories of the temples. Mathematical tablets with square and cube roots. Fountains and water troughs lined with bitumen Bread ovens

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White Temple, Uruk

As it looks today

White Temple and ziggurat

Uruk (modern Warka) Iraq

ca. 3,200-3,000 B.C.E.mud brick

HattusaHittite capital, 1300 BCMain gateway guarded

by sentinel towers and animal guardians

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Greek Antecedents:

Mycenaeans 1600 BC – 1125 BC,

overrun by Dorians Fortified settlements

on rock plateaus with thick walls of large irregular, fitted stones called cyclopean by the Greeks

Mycenae

Mycenae

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Lions Gate

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Greek Antecedents: Minoans

Crete, the Cyclades islands, Peleponnesus3400 BC to 1400 BCAppeared to have complete control of the sea Built palaces with sophisticated plumbing and

drainage but without defensive walls Wall murals depict religious activities and

festive sports notably vaulting over bulls

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Royal Palace, Knossos, Crete

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Royal Palace Knossos Partial Restorations

North Palace

Royal Apartments

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Royal Palace KnossosPartial Restorations

Architecture in Crete is no more structurally complex than in Mesopotamia or Anatolia

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Knossos Palace:Bull Fresco

Ctesiphon Palace on the TigrisKiln-baked brick in a parabolic vault over

the great hall (or iwan) of the palace

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Persepolis 550 BCGreat flights of steps lead up to

the podium on which the palaces were built. Only the stumps of the columns survive, originally they had unique capitals – the forefront of animals

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...Giving Birth to Great Architecture

Definition of terms

Ziggurats Cuneiform Mud Bricks Weeper Holes Buttress Fertile Crescent Stylus Mosaic Bas Relief