Global Arab Network | Archaeologists: Middle Euphrates Civilization - Magnificent Architecture Bears the Stamp of Clay

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Archaeologists: Middle Euphrates Civilization - Magnificent Architecture Bears the Stamp of Clay

Global Arab Network - - Sarah Khan

Friday, 18 December 2009 17:32

clay_Middle_Euphrates_Civilization_syria

The 'clay civilization', a name attributed to the civilization in the Middle Euphrates region (Deir Ezzor, Eastern Syria), as the raw material that epitomizes that civilization is clay. In the almost exclusively mud-brick architecture, the Middle Euphrates bears the stamp of clay.

Clay typically has been considered easy to use and handle. Among other attributes is its ability to keep warm in winter and cool in summer and to be molded into different shapes.

Clay can be aesthetically functional in geometric shape art, which is why it became number one building material over numerous periods of time.

Director of Deir Ezzor Museums and Antiquities Department Yaser Shouhan said the distinct style of architecture in the Euphrates Valley is assumed to be adequately expressed by the nature of the raw materials available in the structure of geographical environment, foremost among those was clay, which was most commonly used in designing the skeletons of buildings in ancient cities and urbanism.

According to studies, the ancient man who inhabited the Middle Euphrates region used to form huge lumps of clay mixed with straw that are left to dry in the sun to be later used in construction.

The oldest inhabited village so far discovered at the site of Tal Buqrus (hill), 40 km to the south east of Deir Ezzor and dating back to the 7th millennium B.C. was built in the same way.

The village was amazingly constructed according to a ready-made design, where houses were set closely together based on a certain pattern. Walls and floors were daubed with soft clay and lanes served as transportation means.

Art of architecture in the Middle Euphrates magnificently progressed over time. Cities appeared for the first time in the region surrounded by high ramparts built on adobe-covered limestone bases and varying in shape and thickness. Some of those were circular; others were rectangular to fit the geographic structure of the region. Cities used to have two ramparts separated by orchards and houses for the lower class. The ramparts also had gates with clay-daubed guard towers on top.

Economic and trade development played a key role in bringing about a change in social relations. Religion came to power. People at the time started to form visions of ideal life and religious beliefs were epitomized by many divine symbols and sacred places like the Temples of Ishtar, Ninhursag and Nini-Zaza.

Architectural style also developed; high temples were erected, mostly patterned after pyramid-like structures like al-Zuqurat, a building with six brick mastabas locating on the highest spot in the city. People could make it to the top via three clay runways.

The sweeping urbanism movement resulted in the emergence of temporal power taking over the religious authority.

Buildings of the ruling class started to have new distinct nature of their own. Houses were no longer considered as mere means of providing shelter, safety and stability. They were rather looked at as a mark of civilization due to diversity in shape and style.

Grand palaces were built of dried clay, most notably is the Palace of Zimri-Lim in the ancient city of Mari.

The Palace spreads over two and a half hectares, including 306 rooms. Successive chambers and meandering passages follow the one-room entrance and lead to a courtyard that allows access to other parts of the palace.

The Palace comprises meeting rooms, halls to hold religious ceremonies, a temple and the throne hall. There are also rooms for guests and servants, administrative offices and a royal family suite that includes kitchens, bathrooms and upper rooms. The Palace also had a school consisting of three rows of clay mastabs to serve as student seats.

The clay models and designs unearthed give evidence of how mathematics and geometry progressed over time. The Palace's sloping ceilings were skillfully designed leaning on parallel wooden pillars which rely on wooden beams to lighten pressure on the clay walls.

Clay was not used merely in construction; it had other cultural functions. Clay cuneiform tablets recording diaries were accumulated in libraries, most prominent and well-known of which is the royal archive of the Palace of Zimri-Lim at Mari.

Experiences accumulated over time helped man realize the chemical nature of clay, its use, utility and limitations. Pottery water pipes were used as canals to draw fresh water to houses and facilities. There were also sewage canals made of clay. Brick was also made from clay and used for building baths like the baths at Dura-Europos.

People in Deir Ezzor, particularly in rural areas and al-Badiya (the desert), still use adobe which besides being low-cost seems to well fit the dry-hot summer and cold-winter climate. (SANA)

Global Arab Network

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