Craft, administration and power in Early Dynastic Mesopotamian public buildings. Recovering the Plano-convex building at Kish, Iraq

Abstract

The Plano-convex building (PCB) at Kish is a very significant complex from the 3rd millennium in Mesopotamia. This construction was partially uncovered and the evidence was sketchily recorded and published by the Anglo-American expedition. Notwithstanding the value of subsequent studies, much work remains to be done to understand the stratigraphy, chronology and function of the building. Thus, the aim of this paper is the understanding of the architectural and chronological sequence of area P and to reconstruct activities and the use of space in the Plano-convex building. New data have been obtained analyzing the unpublished documentation and materials kept in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford and the Field Museum, Chicago. Thanks to the new information, a stratigraphical sequence ranging from the late Early Dynastic to the Early Akkadian period has been recognized. Furthermore different activities such as beer brewing, textile and oil production, as well as shell working were identified within the PCB. Those were managed through a multi-step economic system confirmed by the presence of specific finds. Finally, architectural analysis provides hints suggesting that the PCB might have housed the administration of political power by élite or even royal families.