Assyria and Babylonia

This article discusses the architecture of Assyria and Babylonia, two kingdoms that were located in modern-day Iraq and surrounding parts of Syria, Turkey, and Iran. This region overlaps with Mesopotamia (an ancient Greek name for the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers). The rise to prominence around c. 1800 bce of the cities of Assur in northern Iraq and of Babylon in central Iraq is taken as the article’s starting point. The main focus is, however, on the later histories of Assyria (c. 900–612 bce) and Babylonia (c. 626–538 bce). Both kingdoms can be said to have reached an imperial scale during these periods (Assyria around 730 bce during the reign of King Tiglath-Pileser III, and Babylonia when its armies conquered Assyria in 612 bce). Both empires came to control large parts of western Asia and at times also Egypt. This chapter will, however, focus on Mesopotamia proper, what might be described as its architectural koine (a multiregional shared material culture). The conquest of Babylonia by the Achaemenid Persian armies in 538 bce is taken as the end date. Architecture is an integral part of society and cannot therefore be studied on its own. The discourse on Mesopotamian architecture is notably sparse and uneven (as becomes apparent in this article). The limited nature of the discourse can be explained in several ways. First, although Mesopotamian architects created some of the most renowned buildings of their times, those architects did not write down their ideas, nor did they claim authorship. Ancient textual sources, although abundantly preserved, provide limited information when it comes to architecture. The activity of architecture was instead based on learned practice. Second, the architecture of the region was predominantly constructed of mud bricks supplemented with wood. More-extensive use of stones was generally limited to monumental buildings. Over the centuries, these buildings have collapsed and come to be buried under their own, and later, debris. Generally, only the lowest parts of the ground floor walls have survived. Our knowledge of ancient architecture is therefore dependent on archaeological excavations that commenced in the middle of the 19th century. Third, from the time the first excavations in the region commenced, archaeologists have focused mostly on the big urban centers and their monumental palaces and temples. Archaeologists have become more interested in other types of buildings and settlements over time, but our knowledge remains limited and biased to certain regions and periods. These biases, unfortunately, continue to shape the discourse and limit what can be referenced. Although this chapter does not aim to be comprehensive, it does include a substantial selection of the works that have been published on the architecture of the region.

The Gebelein Archaeological Project in 2019: Northern necropolis and the temple complex

Continued archaeological surveys at two sites in the Gebelein area, the Northern Necropolis and the temple complex, have contributed new data for a better understanding of the ancient remains. Geophysical anomalies detected in 2015 in the western part of the Northern Necropolis should now be interpreted most probably as tombs with mud-brick walls. Mounds of earth in the central part of the necropolis yielded numerous artifacts dating from between the Naqada I and the early Old Kingdom periods; they are likely to have been dumped from a nearby settlement site, probably the ancient town of Sumenu. Work in the temple complex was aimed at protecting the structure made of inscribed mud-bricks dating from the Twenty-first Dynasty.

The earliest adobe monumental architecture in the Americas

Adobe bricks, or mud bricks, are construction elements which have defined major architectural traditions in the Andes over thousands of years. From Moche pyramids and the ancient city of Chan Chan in pre-Hispanic times, to Spanish casonas of the colonial period and rural houses in contemporary South America, adobe has been a central component in Andean architecture. Discovery of the remains of an early monumental building constructed primarily of adobes at Los Morteros (lower Chao Valley, north coast of Peru) places the invention of adobe architecture before 5,100 calendar years B.P. The unique composition, internal structure, and chronology of the adobes from Los Morteros show the beginnings of this architectural technique, which is associated with El Niño rainfall and the construction of the earliest adobe monumental building in the Americas. We propose that adobe architecture became a major Andean tradition after a long period of technical evolution and experimentation with both shape and composition.

Archaeological Investigation and Hazard Assessment Using Magnetic, Ground-Penetrating Radar, and GPS Tools at Dahshour Area, Giza, Egypt

An archeological study using magnetic and ground-penetrating radar methods has been performed at the Dahshour region (Giza, Egypt), where various covered structures have not been found because of the long coercion of the zone under the military specialists. Dahshour is the southern extension of the Saqqara and Giza Pyramids plateau, around 25 km south of Cairo. The area is known for its colored pyramids—the white, red, and black pyramids, and the famous Bent Pyramid. Four investigation sites were chosen around the Bent Pyramid complex. The geophysical investigation has revealed the presence of some buried structures made up of mud bricks such as tombs, mud-brick walls, causeway, and remains of an ancient temple. Numerous limestone blocks were also detected. The study indicates the possible existence of an older valley temple made up of mud bricks and confirms the existence of another causeway that led to the Nile Valley. To protect the Egyptian heritage around this vital area, a detailed computation of the current crustal stress/strain state has been performed by taking into account all the available GPS observations. Achieved results indicated that the southern and the southeastern sectors of the investigated area are currently accumulating strain, and this means that there is a possibility for future earthquakes to occur around this vital archaeological area. Buried structures are preserved by confinement in the burial materials like a large mold. However, external load or stress can still cause damage. Therefore, during excavation, the stress should be reduced to avoid wall collapsing and structure damage. Therefore, it is recommended to start excavation from the stress direction from the southern side.

Urban backyard swine production: A case study of Kaduna, A Nigerian metropolitan city

A survey to assess the production pattern of backvard pig raising in Kaduna Metropolis was carried out using structured questionnaires. A total of 170 farmers were randomly selected for the study. 42.94% of the respondents were traders, 24.71% civil servants, 19.41% crop farmers and 5.88% were students. More women (61.76%) than men (38.23%) kept backyard pigs with herd size of 2-10 pigs. Most (86.50%) of the pigs were of the indigenous breed and are raised as a secondary source of income for the family. Management system was mostly extensive (71.24%), but majority of the producers (98.2496) fed kitchen wastes, vegetables and agro-industrial by-products as supplement. About 58. 40% of the farmers interviewed used mud-bricks with thatched roof and rammed earth floor to house their pigs over night, while 55.20% used cement blocks with zinc roof. Most of the farmers (98.20%) reported incredible market age of 11/2 years and sold their pigs live. Mortality was generally high, but was higher for young piglets than for adults and was mainly due to diseases and poor management. Only 58.82% of the respondents applied medications to their pigs, mostly against worms. Among the identified constraints to improved production are high cost and non-availability of compound fornula feeds, difficulties in obtaining bank loans, lack of organised Markets for pigs, high incidence of diseases, accidental mortality, poor management, inadequate veterinary services and lack of title to land. About 92.94% of the respondents found pig raising to be profitable. The survey showed that pig productivity into Nigeria's urban settings could be enhanced if adequate attention is paid to the removal of identified constraints to production.