Temples
Thousands of years ago civilizations would work to preserve their legacy by building massive temples and monumental structures. Temples were also built for religious purposes such as sacrifice, meditation, prayer, and worship. In Mesopotamia temples fulfilled roles such as housing the local god and administrative centers. To build these temples, large numbers of slaves or workers were need in order to move supplies and other materials around. The construction of these temples took years and years of hard work and most of the time there were large amounts of casualties. The oldest known temple is located in southeastern Turkey and is 11,500 years old! (Sebastian Archard)
Timeline
10th millennium BCE: Gobekli Tepe is built by hunter gatherers in Turkey.
5325-4500 BCE: The Sumerians built their first temple.
2500 BCE: Stonehenge is built in west England.
15th century BCE: Temple of Amanda is built by Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose.
1400 BCE: The Luxor temple on the east bank of the Nile is founded.
1279 BCE: The Temple of Seti I is built of the west bank of the Nile in Abydos.
950 BCE: Solomon builds the first Temple of Jerusalem.
800 BCE: The site of Delphi first acquires a religious significance
(Sebastian Archard)
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/civilization/?ar_a=1
http://www.touropia.com/oldest-temples-in-the-world/
Timeline
10th millennium BCE: Gobekli Tepe is built by hunter gatherers in Turkey.
5325-4500 BCE: The Sumerians built their first temple.
2500 BCE: Stonehenge is built in west England.
15th century BCE: Temple of Amanda is built by Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose.
1400 BCE: The Luxor temple on the east bank of the Nile is founded.
1279 BCE: The Temple of Seti I is built of the west bank of the Nile in Abydos.
950 BCE: Solomon builds the first Temple of Jerusalem.
800 BCE: The site of Delphi first acquires a religious significance
(Sebastian Archard)
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/civilization/?ar_a=1
http://www.touropia.com/oldest-temples-in-the-world/
Defensive Walls
In ancient times civilizations had to build defense wall to protect themselves from raids, ongoing wars, and natural hazards. Many of these fortifications were built with mud brick. This method was used by civilizations in Mesopotamia (which holds the world’s oldest known walled cities), Assyria, Babylonia and many civilizations to come. Babylon has been recognized as one of the ancient world’s most famous cities because of the walls and Ishtar Gate that protect the city. Many fortifications were added along the Nile to protect the Ancient Egyptians from invaders. As history proceeded, the world began seeing less mud brick walls and more stone brick walls.
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.crystalinks.com/Fortress.html
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.crystalinks.com/Fortress.html
Streets and Roads
Roads first began popping up close to the year 4000 B.C.E. They were usually stone-paved streets or dirt caravan routes used throughout the specific region. In Egypt, roads were a result of canal digging and they were only really paved under special circumstances. Because of the lack of rain in Egypt, ordinary dirt roads were existent year-round. Road signs and guideposts began to show up during Biblical times.
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.aeraweb.org/lost-city-project/walking-ancient-streets/
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.aeraweb.org/lost-city-project/walking-ancient-streets/
Sewage
As nomadic cultures began to become more permanent societies, they began to have concerns over waste disposal. The technologies developed by the ancient civilizations tended to vary on how that particular culture developed. In the year 3500 B.C.E. in the city of Ur (which had a population of over 65,000 per square mile) didn't have a developed waste disposal system so the people would just sweep their waste into the street. The Indus Valley Civilization (2500-1500 B.C.E.) was much more advanced; their disposal systems included houses with flushing toilets, drainage systems, rubbish chutes and rubbish bins that were placed around the city. Many civilizations that followed the Indus Valley Civilization all consisted of flushing toilets and even took a leap forward by building sewers out of stone.
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.cefns.nau.edu/Projects/WDP/resources/History/History.htm
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.cefns.nau.edu/Projects/WDP/resources/History/History.htm
Water Systems
Water systems can be traced all the way back to the years 8000-7000 B.C.E. in the ancient city of Jericho which happened to be located near springs and other bodies of water. In the massive cities that some of these great civilizations built, there are traces of wells and stone rainwater channels (Egypt and Mesopotamia). In the year 3000 B.C.E., the city of Mohenjo-Daro consisted of hundreds upon hundreds of wells that reached down into the earth to collect water. They also found water pipes that led to toilets. The first evidence of water supply construction comes from the 2nd millennium B.C.E. which was the Bronze Age.
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.history.com/videos/first-water-moving-system-invented#first-water-moving-system-invented
(Sebastian Archard)
http://www.history.com/videos/first-water-moving-system-invented#first-water-moving-system-invented
Ziggurats
One of the most ancient and impressive monumental types of architecture of ancient Mesopotamia can be traced back to the Sumerians, this type of architecture is called a ziggurat. A ziggurat is a pyramid shaped tower with a temple at the top. Ziggurats served as bases of worship for the Mesopotamian gods. Building one was considered a religious act, which meant frequent offerings to the gods had to be made and that any person to help had to be good and honest. Ziggurats were built from mud brick and can date back to 6000-3800 B.C.E.
This picture depicts how the Ziggurat of Ur would have looked when it was built in 2100 B.C.E. This ziggurat was built during the time of king Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur for the moon goddess Nanna.
http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=ESCAW028&Data&Win
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ziggurat-of-ur.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/ziggurat.html
(Roberto Preza)
This picture depicts how the Ziggurat of Ur would have looked when it was built in 2100 B.C.E. This ziggurat was built during the time of king Ur-Nammu of the Third Dynasty of Ur for the moon goddess Nanna.
http://www.fofweb.com/History/MainPrintPage.asp?iPin=ESCAW028&Data&Win
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ziggurat-of-ur.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/ziggurat.html
(Roberto Preza)
Pyramids
Probably one of the most ancient and well known types of architecture would be the pyramids, which originated in Egypt. Unlike the ziggurats, pyramids did not serve as a place of worship but rather as a tomb for deceased pharaohs. Pyramids were built with limestone in the exterior while the interior was built out of granite. The first sign of any pyramid was in 2630 BCE in Saqqara, Egypt.
This is a picture of the great pyramids of Giza in Egypt, which were built as tombs for some pharaohs.
Timeline:
http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_craig_herwldcivb_2/17/4596/1176680.cw/content/index.html
http://www.wikiveler.com/africa/egypt/nile-valley/giza/attractions/pyramids/pictures/20~the-great-pyramids-of-egypt
(Roberto Preza)
This is a picture of the great pyramids of Giza in Egypt, which were built as tombs for some pharaohs.
Timeline:
- 2630 BCE: The first pyramid is built at Saqqara, Egypt.
- 2600 BCE: The first step pyramid is built by Pharaoh Zoser.
- 2528 BCE: The Great Pyramid was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu.
- 2494 BCE: The Pyramid of Khafre is built at Giza.
- 2472 BCE: The Pyramid of Menkaure is built at Giza.
http://wps.prenhall.com/hss_craig_herwldcivb_2/17/4596/1176680.cw/content/index.html
http://www.wikiveler.com/africa/egypt/nile-valley/giza/attractions/pyramids/pictures/20~the-great-pyramids-of-egypt
(Roberto Preza)