e town by a wall which
invariably enclosed the sacred quarter. Within this large wall there
were smaller ones, marking the several divisions of the temple
buildings. The construction of the smaller edifices does not appear to
have varied from the ordinary form chosen for the one-story
dwelling-houses in the city proper. The material used for all
structures--the large and the small ones--was brick. In earlier times
the bricks were merely dried in the sun. The buildings, as a
consequence, suffered much from the influence of the heat and rain, and
required frequent repairs. Often the tower would crumble away, and an
entirely new edifice would have to be erected. The later custom of
kiln-dried bricks was an improvement, and still more solidity was
insured when the exterior series of brick was glazed. In the older
buildings, the bricks were merely piled together, without cement.
Afterwards straw was mixed with the clay, but as early as Gudea's days
the bitumen, abounding in the valley, became the common cement employed
in all edifices of importance. Wood was used in the case of smaller
sanctuaries (as also in palaces) for the roof, and the kings often refer
with pride to the efforts they made to obtain the precious cedars of the
Lebanon forests for their building enterprises. The decoration was
confined largely to the facades, the doors, and the floors. A pleasing
effect also was produced by the judicious distribution of glazed and
enameled bricks in the walls. Colors were used with still greater
lavishness in the decorations of the interior. The brilliancy was
heightened by the use of precious stones and gold and silver for the
walls and floors and ceilings. The aim of the builders was, as they
constantly tell us, to make the buildings as brilliant as the sunlight.
The decorations of the brick walls and floors suggest textile patterns,
and to account for this, some scholars have supposed that prior to the
use of colored bricks, it was customary to cover the walls and floors of
temples and palaces with draperies and rugs. The suggestion lacks proof,
but has much in its favor. In exterior architecture no profound changes
were ever introduced, but within the prescribed limits, the builders did
their utmost to make their edifices testimonials of their zeal and
power. They imported gold, copper, and diorite from the Sinai peninsula
and Arabia, precious stones from Armenia and the Upper Euphrates, wood
from Bahrein and from variou