THIS CHAPTER REVIEWS the architecture of anw
cient Mesopotamia, the lands watered by the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries.
The evidence is both too extensive and too fragmentary
to treat this subject in a comprehensive
manner, therefore only the best-preserved and
most clearly delineated examples are discussed
here.
The mud-brick architecture of ancient Mesopotamia
was constantly evolving: new building
materials were developed, new building techw
niques were adopted, and above all the designs
ofbuildings were modified to suit the changing
requirements of the inhabitants. It is difficult
to know when and where such changes were
introduced, because despite the large number
of buildings which have been excavated, most
excavations have produced only fragmentary
ground plans and there are regions ofMesopotamia
and long periods for which there is little or
no architectural information. Furthermore the
elevations of buildings are unknown except for
a very few exceptionally well preserved structures
and for a limited number ofexamples illustrated
on bas-reliefs or on seals (see fig. 2. and
figs. 12. and 15). Mesopotamia was not isolated
from the surrounding regions and its architecture
influenced, and, in tum, was influenced by,
the traditions of its neighbors and cases ofsuch
influence can sometimes be identified.
This chapter describes first the building materials
used and the techniques employed and
then gives examples of the principal types of
buildings, houses, temples, palaces, tombs,
forts, hydraulic works, and gardens: the most
characteristic forms of each building type are
discussed in roughly chronological order.