A temple plan
Artifact: Clay tablet
Provenience:
Period: Ur III (ca. 2100-2000 BC)
Current location: John Rylands Library, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK (JRL 930)
Text genre, language: Administrative text; Sumerian
CDLI page
Description: Sketches of building layouts on clay are rare. This temple plan in the John Rylands Library of Manchester is an outstanding example. The captions next to the drawn walls give their lengths in cubits. Whereas the outer walls of the building have a thickness of three cubits the walls inside the building are two cubits thick. The entrance to the building, which can most probably be identified as temple was in the middle of the left outer wall. In a straight line four rooms are indicated, of which the second room has almost a square layout. From this more or less central room one could reach further rooms that lie to the side of the building. Most interesting is an elongated room in the upper part of the sketch, in which a flight of stairs might be indicated. (Klaus Wagensonner, University of Oxford)
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