Mesopotamian Architecture: Construction Techniques and Materials

Mesopotamian Architecture: Materials and Techniques

Bricks

• Crude (Adobe): Sun-dried and placed with a layer of properly diluted clay or mortar (30x40cm x 5.5-11cm).
• Thick Paste: Placed before complete drying. Early tiers included "amulets." Drying was facilitated by drainage channels within the mass, supported by wooden braces.
• Cooked: Used in areas requiring greater protection.
• Cooked and Glazed: Coated with crushed quartz dust or heat-treated materials; typically used for exterior facing.
• Plano-convex: Rectangular (20x30cm) with a rounded top and digital prints or stripes for grip. Placed in a herringbone pattern.
• Binocular and Conical: Taco-shaped with square, rectangular, or circular sections.

Structural Elements

Stone: Used as slab-shaped veneer, anchored like a rope to penetrate the brick wall. Ornamentation featured bas-relief carving.

Mortar: Composed of diluted clay, sand, lime, water, ash, and bitumen.

Wood: Imported for important buildings; local wood used for standard dwellings.

Foundations

Foundation: Cooked brick veneer, configuring incoming and outgoing facades. Features included drainage galleries and brick vaults mounted on the front wall. Elevated plateaus were constructed of adobe in thick paste, accessed via ramps or steps. Foundations were built on natural sloping hills, sand beds (12cm), or stone.

Walls and Supports

Wall: Raw earth inner body. Exterior walls used sun-dried or cooked brick, bonded with diluted clay or mortar; wet areas utilized lime and bitumen.

Insulated Supports or Columns: Columns featured earth or wood cores with brick siding. Assyrian columns included circular sections with bulbous capitals and smooth shafts.

Roofing and Covers

Cover: Earth and plaster; earth and limestone or vitrified ceramic plating (glassy-sided bricks or embedded triangular, square, or conical glazed clay pieces).

Roofing: Lintel roofs used in secondary spaces of homes or monumental buildings.

Arches and Vaults

Arches: Initially used brick-shaped mortar, later transitioning to radial rowlock bricks. Semicircular or half-point designs.

Vaults:

• Reed: Coated with a layer of clay.
• Domes: False vaults using projecting adobe in circular or elliptical spaces.
• Barrel Vaults: Sloping courses of baked brick voussoirs, sometimes reinforced with sardinel brick courses.
• Adinteladas: Pincer-style housing.

Ziggurats and Palaces

Ziggurat: Stepped pyramidal towers consisting of solid bodies. Structures utilized brick reinforced with reed mats (ropes), alternating mud layers, and bitumen. Air vents were integrated to prevent moisture damage. Examples include the White Temple, the Babylonian Ziggurat, and the Ziggurat of Ur.

Palace: (Content pending)