2011 AR 103

History of

Architecture
CLASS 15

Nipun George
SCMS School of Architecture, Karukutty, Kochi.

MODULE 2

a. Neolithic Age / Bronze Age

5500 BC 2700 BC PREDYNASTIC PERIOD IN EGYPT, EGYPTIAN PYRAMIDS
5000 BC 3000 BC YANGSHAO CULTURE & CHINESE BRONZE AGE CIVILIZATIONS
4000 BC 3100 BC URUK PERIOD, ZIGGURATS
3300 BC 1300 BC INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION MOHENJO DARO & HARAPPA
3200 BC 1500 BC EUROPEAN MEGALITHIC TOMBS, STONE CIRCLES,STONE HENGE

b. Iron Age 1300BC 0AD

Iron Age 1300BC 0AD

ASIA

EUROPE

AMERICA

AFRICA

HOLICITY VARANASI
(1200 BC)

MINOAN CULTURE
(2700 BC 1450BC)

POVERTY POINT
(1650 BC 700BC)

IRON AGE EGYPT

(1500BC 0AD)

EASTERN ZHOU
DYNASTY
(1046BC 256BC)

HATTUSAS
(2000 BC 1200BC)

MACHALILLA
CULTURE
(1500BC 1100BC)

THE GREAT SUN

TEMPLE AT AMARNA
(1353BC 1336 BC)

NEO ASSYRIAN
EMPIRE
(911BC 609 BC)
TEMPLE OF
SOLOMON
(587BC)
BUDDHA PERIOD
MAURYAN EMPIRE
ASHOKA PILLAR
(approx.300BC)

GREEK CULTURE
(900BC )

OLMEC CULTURE
(1500 BC 400BC)
PRECLASSIC MAYA
CULTURE
(1000BC 250 AD)

Hattusas 20001200 BC

 known as Capital of the Hittite Empire in the

late Bronze Age.
Ruins lie near modern Boazkale,Turkey.
It was the 'Hatti' not the Hittites that first built
Hattusa, existing as a superpower until the
Hittite invasion in the mid 1800BC.
A carbonized layer apparent in excavations
attests to the burning and ruin of the city of
Hattusa around 1,700 BC King Anitta from
Kussara.
Hattusa used as the Hittite capital for another
500 years during conquered vast swathes of
the middle east and Anatolia before they
disappeared.

 The earliest traces of settlement on the site

are from the 6000 BC.
The Hatti were an aboriginal people in central
Anatolia who first appear in the area around
the River Kizil Irmak spoke Hattic and did not
have a written language but used Cuneiform
Script forTrade dealings established trade
with Sumer by the year 2,700 BC.
In 2,500 BC the Hatti established their capital
at Hattusa also held lands securely in the
surrounding areas.
Hattic Art flourished around 2,200 BC and, by
2,000 BC, their civilization was at its height
with trading colonies established by the
Assyrians at Hattusa and the city of Kanesh.

City of Hattusa Artist's Interpretation

 Covered by rugged terrain amidst steep rock

formations
the difference in elevation between the lower
city and the upper city was well in the range of
300 meters.
Hattusas sits on top of barren and windswept
plateau at 1,200 meters above sea level.

Ruins ofTemple 1

City Planning & Architecture

The city covered 1.8 sqkm and comprised an
1) inner (Lower City) and
2) outer(Upper City) portion
both surrounded by a massive and still visible
course of walls
The inner city covered an area of some 0.8
sqkm and was occupied by a citadel with large
administrative buildings and temples.
The royal residence, or acropolis, was built
on a high ridge now known as Bykkale
(Great Fortress).

To the south lay an outer city of about 1

sqkm, with elaborate gateways decorated with
reliefs showing warriors, lions, and sphinxes.
4 temples were located here, each set around
a porticoed courtyard, together with secular
buildings and residential structures.
Outside the walls are cemeteries, most of
which contain cremation burials.
The dwelling houses that were built with
timber and mud bricks
Temples and palaces were stonebuilt

The City Wall

The original wall 6.6 km long

Yerkapi
One of the most remarkable monuments of the
Upper city, is a large oblong pyramid some 250 by
70 meters wide and 30 meters high at the southern
end of the citadel.
A kind of rampart was built on top of this platform,
consisting of a single line of walls with several towers
and two gateways decorated by sphinxes.

This huge enigmatic structure is usually called a

fortress or a rampart
A large stairway leads up to the summit and a long
thin tunnel pierces it from side to side over a length
of 69 meters leading into the middle of the complex.
The two entrances, a small tunnel below (functional
means of access ) and the 'Sphinx gateway' at the top
( Ceremonial means of access)

Sphinx Gateway

The Lion Gate

 Strong similarity to the construction techniques seen in

Mycenaean Greece.
Pairs of lions are common a feature seen at the
entrances of several great cities and complexes
throughout the ancient world.
considered to symbolize protection, and are identified
with places of importance.

Construction Techniques
The lowest levels of the foundation blocks of the
great walls show a highly skilled masonry style,
called 'Cyclopean'.

 perfectly circular drillholes cut deep into the rock

These holes served to hold the bronze pins required
to support the wooden frame of buildings, which
were then filled with mudbrick.

The Gate of the King, so called for a basrelief depicting a marching King on the inner
door frame.

One of the hieroglyphic chambers in the Upper citadel. Note the massive corbelled vault
made of finely fitted boulders