TEPE GAWEA SPEISER 423 



site suffers from overcrowdiii<^. New buildings are added, detract- 

 ing from the restful appeal of the acropolis; gone are the gardens and 

 the spacious courtyards. In course of time, however, a healthy re- 

 action sets in. The site is rebuilt, the temples alone being rever- 

 ently preserved or restored. The whole is again pleasing to the eye, 

 but the original spirit of measured restraint cannot bo completely 

 recaptured. 



Many features combine to make this remote archaic stage of fun- 

 damental importance for the history of architecture. For the pur- 

 poses of the present account a few details will have to suffice. As 

 a typical example of contemporary design let us take the Western 

 Temple (pi. 2, fig. 1) which was built at the very beginning of 

 Gawra VIII. It is a rectangular structure with its entrance on the 

 short side. The door is sheltered by an entrance porch or liwan, an 

 entirely unexpected refinement in prehistoric building. From this 

 liwan we pass to a central chamber, which communicates with four 

 smaller rooms, two on each long side. The simplicity of this plan 

 is a noteworthy achievement and symmetry is its principal character- 

 istic. The deep porch emphasizes the entrance; the interior doors 

 balance each other; on the exterior the long walls are decorated by 

 three, and the sliort walls by two double-crenelated niches, all 

 arranged in perfect symmetry. The front niches framed tall and 

 narrow windows, the oldest improvement of this kind known to 

 archeology. 



Even more surprising is the fact that the builders of Gawra VIII 

 made use of the true arch in the construction of vaulted halls (pi. 2, 

 fig. 2). It has been known for some time that the Eomans were 

 not the inventors of the true arch. The Sumerians knew it as far 

 back as the third millennium B.C. Now, however, the Gawrans turn 

 out to have anticipated the Sumerians by at least five centuries. 



We shall resist the temptation to dwell longer on architectural 

 details. As it is, little space is available to sketch the material back- 

 ground of the period. Copper is still rare, and the more delicate 

 tools as well as many of the ornaments are made of bone and ivory. 

 Stamp seals have gained in popularity (pi. 3, fig. 1), but the best 

 work of the glyptic artist is now seen on intricately carved ivory 

 plaques (pi. 3, fig. 2). Beads are ubiquitous, the finest specimens 

 being fashioned of a semitransparent obsidian. Painted pottery is 

 no longer in vogue; the better wares, however, are given a high 

 polish. 



The racial identity of these Middle Gawrans is just as obscure 

 as was that of the earlier inhabitants. Their undecorated pottery 

 and distinctive architecture suggest the presence of a new ethnic 

 element, come perhaps by the same route which the previous invaders 

 had taken more than a millennium earlier. These gifted settlers 



