The City Of Ashur

 

Subject/ report about: (The works of maintenance for the period between 1979 – 1986, and the damaging out of the rain water, surge, factor of denudation and the coming danger).

We don’t know who was the king who built Ashur.

 

               The Gate of Tabira (pic. no. 1):

 

The gate has been maintained by the mud bricks and baked bricks, but the works of maintenance stopped in 1986 because of the exhaustion of balance, and has no more any     financial allocation from that time until now.

First: The shoulders and the outer towers:

a.   The grand outer tower: the notable tower or what named the northern tower, as a result of the stopping works of maintenance, so the tower was susceptible for longitudinal crack because of the rain water and flowage. And that lead to fall out a lot of baked bricks.(pic.no.2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

b. Frontage of the bench: Where a part from the frontage in southern portion has been collapsed, because of the rain water. And the floor gate has been cracked because of the groundwater (pic. no. 3).  As it is clear, the floor needs for rebuilding the baked bricks cover, and injecting the cracks and grooves by mud mixing with water. (Pic No 4)

 

 

c.      Souther

ner tower: These are in need for a lot of maintenance works, as the outer cover which built by baked bricks.

And[W1]  the applied plan it is to height with two towers to be with same height of the wall that connecting the both towers to prevent the flowage dropping on the frontage. (Pic No 5)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D The wall of mud bricks: It is extending to covered baked bricks wall; it is standing in northern direction to the towers. Its face was corroding as a result of the rain and surge. So it need for the maintaining works in many damaged part. (Pic No 6)

 

 

 

Second: The Gate Floor:

A. It did not received with any chance from the maintenance works which had been happen, so it founded big cracks (tunnels) because of ignoring the floor, which was happened because of the rain water, which referred to it an above. (Pic. no. 7).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B.1. Collapse – room no. (1), collapse of bases: A number of bricks have been fallen from the bottom of the wall, over the stone bases. (Pic. no.8). 

 

And in the same room there is longitudinal crack in the wall. (Pic. no. 9). 

 

 

2. Room no. (3), it is opponent to the previous room; it has happened some cracks in the bases. (Pic. no. 10). 

 

 

3.    Room no. (2) It is the second room in the right of entrance, its bases has still alright, but it has needed for strengthen. (Pic. no.11). 

 

 

4.    Room no. (4) It has needed for strengthen in the bases and wall. (Pic. no. 12).  

 

 

 

 

 

c.    Shoulders which bearer the arcs: it has happened some of cracks in the walls and floor in the southern side.

 

1. Southern shoulder stood far of the arch, it has happened some cracks. (Pic. no. 13).  

 

 

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And it has a longitudinal crack. See the same above.

 

 2. Third shoulder (the last), in the southern side where some cracks has been happened, from the internal phase in the wall. (Pic. no. 14).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Cracks have been happened in the corner of southern tower in the outer junction, from the gate above the bench with the third shoulder. Pic. No. (15).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2- The Gate of Al-Lat, ( the western ) : Where has been maintained in 1979 by mud bricks, has been finished the outer phase has been finished with the two side tower. But the works of maintains has been height more than 3 m, and it was corroding because of the surges and rain water. (Pic. no. 16).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And also a part from the extending wall into the west with 50 m. long has been maintained by mud and bricks. But a crack from the beneath has corroded from the phase. (Pic. no.17).    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would also like to mention, that it is necessary to be paved with bricks 40 × 40floor, and add the bitumen between the parts of the baked bricks. Also it is better to rebuild the fence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3- The Temple of Anno Adid (multi temple) with two ziqqurat:


The outer wall has been maintained for the both western and southern sides, and a part from eastern side by bricks and mud, with height 2 m., but cracks has happened because of rain water. (Pic. no. 18).   

 

 

 

 

 

And also it is necessary to re maintain all the temple parts by the bricks, and built bases for the two ziqqurat by the same stone which was used in the past. Where the western zakkurat has been removed because of the excavation of the German expedition, but the eastern zakkurat has still some of it. (Pic. no.19).   

 

 

 

And also it is necessary to maintain the floor of the temple by bricks 40×40 and add the bitumen among it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4- Royal Cemetery : where it has been built by mud bricks, and the covered by the baked bricks with its own special measure (cm. 6×32×32) as it founded. And also the beneath part from the building is still stood. It has been maintained in 1986, the maintenance embodied strengthen bases for finishing later. (Pic. no. 20).  

 


 

So it must finish its maintenance as soon as possible, because it lies under beneath sea level, or at least to height with built to the level of the apparent mud bricks in it western part. (Pic. no.21).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5.The Old Palace : It has necessary to maintenance the outer wall of the  from height (1-5m), because it has happened cracks in the old maintenance .  (Pic No 22)     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 For the western part, and (pic. no. 23)                                      for the southern part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also it has need to maintenance by baked bricks and paved the floors. (Pic.no.24).   

 

 

 

 

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. The Ziqqurat of the goddess Ashur ( The Great Ziqqurat ): After the finishing from the works of digging and excavation in 1982, some removed parts has maintained, in the three damaged corners, but the northeast corner is still undamaged. Also it has rebuilt the eastern and southern frontages, by mud bricks as outer covering to keep the origin shape and appear the square shape of it, but that maintenance has been decayed and corroding because of the rain water as in the (pic. no. 24-25). For the two western and southern sides.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The visitor can see that the Ziqqurat has became as paramedical hill and square base, can not understand anything from the origin shape .So it is very necessary for thinking to maintain it, at least a small part with law height, to look like in a historical and scientific shape, where the study of the maintenance is complete with document and lines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Um Al-Shababeet: It is a season river, the rain water and Al jazz era valleys gathering in it to fill in the Tigris. This river meets with northern side of the city directly at Al-mishlat Gate, against the Ziqqurat. This caused corroding and damaged in the part neighborhood the river. (Pic. no. 26). And from it the river proceed with this side to the eastward and then to the main river. (Pic. no. 27).   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This path has caused grooves and cracks every time, so we suggested changing the path to be far from the frontages of this side almost for (10 m.). Or thinking of rebuilding the forceful of Ashur by baked bricks and limestone as it were in the past.

8. The Dam: It is the building that faces the river, it prevents from drifting the city, it has built by stone and the frontage by bitumen, and the northern part has still existing, but a part from it has downfallen and other part has cracked the opposite to the mission residence head-to the north. But the bases have still appear in the path of the river. (Pic. no.28).

I want to confirm that the operation of building the fallen and collapsed part the opposite to the mission is very important to prevent the denudation and corroding. Pic. No. (29).    

9. Drifting of the river: The falling of the Dam in the outreach zone against the mission residence and head-to the south, it gives a chance to the Tigris to lost many parts from the (prince palace-crown prince), but yearly corroding, in the past three years this caused intense river drifting in the crisp drift spot, and it began get into the city in a spot reach for 40m. Long and 20m. Path inside the city. (Pic. no. 30).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The river in this spot has threatened the city and the residence of the mission, the operation treatment not difficult, it just need to full the river ventricle by limestone to shape a lump against the river. (Pic. no. 28).  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therewith that we make two things: the first is stopping the drifting, and the second is rebuild a stone lumps stand for beside the backed bricks that facing to the river.   

 

 

This research has been done by Mustafa Maaroof Hussein.

 


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