Coping with Decay: Understanding the Origin and Meaning of Foundation Deposits and Building Records in Ancient Mesopotamian Societies

Abstract

From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC until late in the 1st millennium BC, Mesopotamian rulers followed the practice of depositing certain kinds of objects (often inscribed) in the foundations of their newly erected temples, palaces, and other official buildings. In addition, for over two millennia it was common to inscribe movable parts of buildings (e.g. bricks and door-sockets) with inscriptions of varying length reporting on the respective activities. This set of practices and the related material culture is unique to Mesopotamian societies since, to our knowledge, no other literate ancient society developed such a complex and long-lasting strategy for coping with the disadvantages posed by natural conditions for the construction and maintenance of the built environment.
Drawing on the Early Bronze Age evidence, this paper aims to investigate the origins of foundation deposits and building records in 3rd-millennium southern Mesopotamia by analyzing the meaning of these objects in light of the environmental conditions of building and the needs of human societies with regard to the built environment they created. Only by taking these two factors into consideration can we understand how and why foundation deposits and building records developed as essential components of related practices.
The insights gained through this analysis will lead to a reconceptualization of certain elements of foundation deposits, namely the so-called “foundation tablets,” and thereby to the resolution of research questions that have been discussed for decades, as will be demonstrated in two specific case studies.