Cone mosaic façades in Mesopotamia (4th millenium BCE): archaeometric approach to an architectural innovation
Year: 2022
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: We present an archaeometric study of clay mosaic cones from the archaeological site of Uruk, excavated in the earlier 20th century and currently kept in the Museum of the Ancient Near East in Berlin (Vorderasiatisches Museum – VAM). Clay cones have been found in major and distant centres of the 4th millennium BCE Uruk period and are characteristic for monumental architecture. They were used to create colourful geometric patterns on the façades of buildings. Research focused on reconstructing the colouring of the cone heads by investigating colourants and the technical processes of their application. From microscopic observations and spectroscopic analyses, the main colouring materials were identified as dolomite for the white-coloured clay cones, hematite/ochre for the red ones, and bitumen for the black ones. These colouring materials are assumed to have been applied cold, after the firing of the ceramic, and in association with an organic binder for the white- and the red-coloured cones.
Source: HAL
Authors: Alloteau, Fanny, Dermech, Sarah, Iuliano, Adriana, Röhrs, Stefan, Simon, Stefan, Radujkovic, Sonja, Gries, Helen, Helwing, Barbara
Institutions: Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Archéosciences-Bordeaux : Matériaux, temps, Images et Sociétés, Archéologie et Histoire Ancienne : Méditerranée – Europe, Maison interuniversitaire des sciences sociales et des humanités d'Alsace, Gerda Henkel Foundation, University of Bologna
Language: German
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Università di Bologna
OpenAlex ID: W4390896138