Taking a New Look at Neo-Assyrian Gates

Sollee, Alexander Ericson (2014). Taking a New Look at Neo-Assyrian Gates (Unpublished). In: 9. ICAANE. Basel. 09.-13.06.2014.

The Assyrian capitals are not only known for their magnificent temples and palaces, but also for their monumental city walls. The most impressive and at the same time most delicate features of all the town defenses were the city gates. As they interrupted the line of defense, they were al-ways a vulnerable spot of every system of fortifications. However, the walled cities’ economic needs demanded these gateways to be built, in order to ensure the steady flow of goods and pro-visions. Apart from that, they also had a significant ideological meaning, which is emphasized by many cuneiform texts.
During the excavations of the Assyrian capitals of Ashur, Dūr Šarrūkīn, and Nineveh, a fairly large number of Assyrian city gates were brought to light. By re-examining the archaeological reports and employing remote sensing, many details of these structures can still be revealed. The paper aims at illuminating the different considerations that went into constructing these gates, as well as the development Assyrian city gates underwent and what may have influenced this process.

Item Type:

Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences > Near Eastern Archaeology

UniBE Contributor:

Sollee, Alexander Ericson

Subjects:

900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499)

Language:

English

Submitter:

Alexander Ericson Sollee

Date Deposited:

02 Mar 2015 11:38

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 14:41

Uncontrolled Keywords:

Neuassyrisch, Befestigungsanlagen, Stadttore, Assyrische Architektur

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/63902

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