Shepperson Sunlight and Shade in the First Cities

A sensory archaeology of early Iraq
1. Auflage 2017
ISBN: 978-3-647-54053-5
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, Band Band 001, 263 Seiten

Reihe: Mundus Orientis

The emergence of urbanism in Iraq occurred under the distinctive climatic conditions of the Mesopotamian plain; rainy winters and extremely hot summers profoundly affected the formation and development of these early cities. Sunlight and Shade in the First Cities explores the relationship between society, culture and lived experience through the way in which sunlight was manipulated in the urban built environment. Light is approached as both a physical phenomenon, which affects comfort and the practical usability of space, and as a symbolic phenomenon rich in social and religious meaning. Through the reconstruction of ancient urban light environments, to the extent possible from the archaeological remains, the location, timing and meaning of activities within early Mesopotamian cities become accessible. Sunlight is shown to have influenced the formation and symbolism of urban architecture and shaped the sensory experience of urban life.From cities as part of the sunlit landscape, this work progresses to consider city forms as a whole and then to the examination of architectural types; residential, sacred and palatial. Architectural analysis is complemented by analysis of contemporary textual sources, along with iconographic and artefactual evidence. The cities under detailed examination are limited to those on the Mesopotamian plain, focusing on the Early Dynastic periods up to the end of the second millennium BC.This volume demonstrates the utility of light as a tool with which to analyse, not just ancient Mesopotamian settlements, but the built environment of any past society, especially where provision of, or protection from sunlight critically affects life. The active influence of sunlight is demonstrated within Mesopotamian cities at every scale of analysis.

Mary Shepperson is an archaeologist specialising in the urban archaeology of the Middle East.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Shepperson, Mary

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Archäologie spezieller Regionen und Zeitalter
• Geisteswissenschaften Religionswissenschaft Religionswissenschaft Allgemein Religionsgeschichte Religionen des Alten Orients

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Title Page;4
2;Copyright;5
3;Table of Contents;6
4;Abstract;12
5;Acknowledgements;13
6;Introduction;14
6.1;The sun;14
6.2;Guiding lights: aims and objectives;15
6.3;Focused questions;17
6.4;Limits and structure;17
7;1: Enlightenment: theories of light, space, form and vision;20
7.1;Archaeology, space and light;20
7.2;The archaeosensorium: light, perception and sensory anthropology;24
7.2.1;The sensorium;26
7.3;Light and architecture;27
7.3.1;The influence of sunlight on architecture: major factors;28
7.3.2;Architecture, light and climate;31
7.3.3;Architecture, light and society;32
7.3.4;In conclusion;39
8;2: Methodologies;40
8.1;The solar past;40
8.2;Shadow casting: modelling shading in the built environment;41
8.2.1;Practicalities;41
8.2.2;Data;42
8.2.3;Calculation;43
8.3;Tell shadows;45
8.4;Method or madness?;46
9;3: The Mesopotamian understanding of light;48
9.1;Knowledge of solar phenomena;48
9.2;Light, dark and shade as symbol and metaphor;51
9.2.1;Light and radiance;51
9.2.2;Light and power;53
9.2.3;Darkness and shade;56
9.2.4;In conclusion;58
10;4: Landscape, light and tells: sunlight on the Mesopotamian plain;60
10.1;Cities and the landscape;60
10.1.1;Cities and their shadows;61
10.2;Tell Formation and the Sun;63
10.2.1;Winter shadow at Tepe Gawra (fig.?4.4);66
10.3;Possible implications for building and tell development;71
10.3.1;Solar influence on tell formation;71
10.3.2;Limiting factors;75
10.4;Orientation and prevailing wind;77
10.5;An example: Tell Brak, Syria;81
10.5.1;Winter Shadow at Tell Brak;83
10.6;The sunlighting of tells in symbolism and ideology;84
11;5: Planning for the Sun: urban forms as a Mesopotamian response to the sun;88
11.1;The city as solar defence;88
11.1.1;Urban layout;89
11.1.2;Close for comfort;90
11.1.3;Dark alleys and shining streets;92
11.2;Filling in the blanks;99
11.3;The light of empire;101
11.4;Life in the shadows;103
11.5;Case study: light in residential Ur;106
11.5.1;Plan 1;108
11.5.2;Plan 2;109
11.5.3;Plan 3;113
11.6;Back to the future: Masdar City;115
11.6.1;In conclusion;115
12;6: Light for living: the cultural lighting of domestic space;118
12.1;Access: The permeability of houses with regard to light and people;119
12.1.1;Letting the light in;119
12.2;Khafajah: planned Early Dynastic housing;124
12.2.1;House XLVII;127
12.3;Light, access and privacy;129
12.4;Ur: unplanned Old Babylonian housing;130
12.4.1;No.5 Quiet Street, Area EM;130
12.4.2;No.7 Quiet Street, Area EM;131
12.4.3;No.1 Old Street and No.3 Straight Street, Area AH;132
12.5;Light in the domestic chapels of Ur;133
12.5.1;House C;134
12.5.2;House Z;134
12.5.3;Tell Asmar;135
12.5.4;No.1 Broad Street;139
12.5.5;No.4 Paternoster Row;140
12.6;Living room lighting;141
12.7;The household and the house;142
12.8;The lighting of domestic cult;144
12.8.1;In conclusion;147
13;7: Divine Light: darkness and light in the architectural framing of Mesopotamian religion;148
13.1;Light and sacred space;148
13.2;Sensing the sacred;150
13.3;Light in Mesopotamian religion;152
13.4;Astronomical alignments;152
13.5;The temple in the landscape, the temple in the city;153
13.6;Temple orientation;155
13.6.1;About the diagrams;159
13.6.2;Interpretation of the diagrams;160
13.7;Gates of judgment and the rays of S?amas?;165
13.8;Local Law;171
13.8.1;In conclusion;173
14;8: Lighting the gods: light and its absence within temples;174
14.1;Public offering, private audience;174
14.1.1;Temple courtyards: sunlight and offering;174
14.1.2;Ki-dutu;180
14.2;Light and liquids;182
14.3;Temple cellae: seen and unseen;184
14.3.1;The Abu temple at Tell Asmar;185
14.3.2;The Bagara temple at Lagash;185
14.3.3;The Shara temple at Tell Agrab:;186
14.4;Case study: the Early Dynastic Temple Oval at Khafajah;195
14.5;Case study: the ziggurat terrace of the Ur III Nanna complex at Ur;199
14.5.1;In conclusion;207
15;9: Rule of light: the lighting of palace architecture;208
15.1;The known palaces;208
15.2;External appearance;210
15.3;Sources of interior light in palace architecture;213
15.4;Palace courtyards;216
15.5;Public reception suites;219
15.5.1;Orientation;220
15.5.2;Light sources;222
15.6;The King’s light;227
15.6.1;Seeing the king;229
15.7;Examples and case studies;230
15.7.1;Tell al-Rimah;230
15.7.2;Mari;232
15.7.3;In conclusion;241
16;10: Conclusions: the use and meaning of light in ancient Mesopotamian cities;242
16.1;Key conclusions and their significance;242
16.1.1;The influence of climate;242
16.1.2;Shade and sunlight in the character and symbolism of cities;243
16.1.3;The primacy of doorway lighting, and its significance for architectural form and archaeological research;244
16.1.4;Lighting and the expression of social and political power;245
16.1.5;Light and time;246
16.1.6;Light in temples;248
16.1.7;The experiential dimension;249
16.2;The original research aims;249
17;Bibliography;252
18;Body;12