French archaeologist solves mystery of ancient Mesopotamian city

From: Ali Asker (pasa_asker_at_lycos.com)
Date: 03/12/05 

Date: 12 Mar 2005 14:54:16 -0800

French archaeologist solves mystery of ancient Mesopotamian city
by Annick Benoist

PARIS - The mystery of an ancient Mesopotamian city has finally been
lifted after 25 years of meticulous work by a French archaeologist who
has revealed it was one of the first "modern cities", purpose-built in
the desert for the manufacture of copper arms and tools.

In a new book entitled "Mari, the Metropolis of the Euphrates",
Jean-Claude Margueron said the third millennium BC city, in modern day
Syria, was "one of the first modern cities of humanity. Created from
scratch in one phase of construction with the specific goal of becoming
this (metallurgical) centre."

This was an astounding concept for the period when cities developed
from villages or trading posts and showed that the Mesopotamians were
way ahead of their time in terms of urban design and development.

"How could a city develop in the third millennium BC in the middle of
the desert, in a region devoid of copper and in a valley devastated by
the floods of the Euphrates making any agriculture very risky?"

In an interview with AFP, Margueron, 70, repeated the question which
haunted him during the decades of excavations of Mari, discovered in
1933 by his predecessor Andre Parrot.

In 1935, the temple of Ishtar, the statue of King Lamgi Mari, then the
Grand Palace of the second millennium, and other temples and fabulous
sculptures were discovered, followed by the living areas and a part of
the third millennium palace.

When Margueron took over as director of excavations in 1979, most of
the spectacular pieces had already been discovered. But the question
remained: Why had they built Mari?

To rediscover the city, Margueron spent thousands of hours examining
the basements, the terraces, the living quarters, traces of streets,
and the surrounding areas - the former river bed of the Euphrates and
other waterways.

"So they were discoveries, not always spectacular, rarely immediately
important, but very significant for the overall understanding of the
site and its integration in the geographical, historical and economic
context," said Margueron.

"The" revelation of Mari -- spread over a dozen years but unpublished
until now -- was the existence of a major centre of metallurgy, dating
from 2,900 BC.

"In fact the metallurgy was everywhere in the city. It was the
existence of this lucrative activity -- Mari produced arms and tools --
which justified everything which we had found previously," said
Margueron.

A major navigable canal was discovered which followed the Euphrates
river for 120 kilometres (75 miles) and allowed the transport of copper
and wood from the Tauras mountains of modern Turkey to support the
metallurgical activities of Mari.

They also discovered an irrigation channel which allowed agricultural
production in an area which otherwise did not receive sufficient
rainfall to grow crops. A third canal protected the city from flooding
and allowed large boats to enter the city which was also protected by a
levy bank and double ramparts.

"The builders of Mari knew the profits they could make from a economic
hub between the south of Mesopotamia and the north, between the east
and the Mediterranean.

"The innumerable riches of the archaeological discoveries made during
these excavations shows they were right."

03/02/2005 13:10 GMT

http://www.turkishpress.com/travel/view.asp?id=37827