| Sumerian Architecture |
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The Sumerians were a people who lived in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq ) from the 4th Millennium BC to the 3rd Millennium BC . Their accomplishments include building the Ziggurats , high mud-brick buildings. MATERIALS The Tigris - Euphrates plain lacked Mineral s and Tree s. Sumerian structures comprised plano-convex Mudbrick , not fixed with Mortar nor Cement . As plano-convex bricks (being rounded) are somewhat unstable in behaviour, Sumerian bricklayers would lay a row of bricks perpendicular to the rest every few rows. They would fill the gaps with Bitumen , Straw , Marsh Reeds , and Weed s. Mud-brick buildings eventually deteriorate, so they were periodically destroyed, levelled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, so that they came to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resulting hills are known as Tell s, and are found throughout the ancient Near East. Sumerian Cylinder Seal s also depict houses built from reeds, not unlike those built by the Marsh Arab s of Southern Iraq until recent years. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques, such as , Half Column s, and Clay Nail s. Scribes were also important to Sumerian architecture, to make records of construction carried out for government, nobility, or royalty. ZIGGURATS The most famous Sumerian buildings are the Ziggurat s -- large terraced platforms with temples on top. Such ziggurats may have been the inspiration for the Biblical Tower Of Babel (see Etemenanki ). Ziggurats typical of the Ubaid Period were built very high on a platform of mud brick. On these large platforms were built gradually smaller and smaller concentric platforms, although sometimes there were ground level temples more typical of the protoliterate period. These were similar to some modern buildings in the shape of ziggurats. Many temples had inscriptions engraved into them, such as the one at Uqair. SEE ALSO |
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