Another very important craft was that of the potter; large numbers of kilns were
found in every sector of City I associated with various craft activities and may suggest
that potting had a special standing in the range of manufacturing industries in City I.
The most important industry, from the origins of the city onwards, and possibly
another major reason for its foundation, was copper metallurgy. The evidence for this
comes from materials associated with the manufacturing process, including different
types of hearths, fragments of crucibles, and of nozzles from the bellows used. These
were found within the city and were sometimes associated with other crafts nearby. For
example, a copper workshop was found next to the house of the wheelwright.
Thus Mari found itself on the route which supplied South Mesopotamia with goods
originating in the mountains; there can be little doubt that the founders of the city
used this situation to bring in substantial revenues. One can conclude that the existence
of this first city was closely linked to the manufacturing activities.
The importance of trade is demonstrated by the presence of magnificent lapis lazuli
and carnelian beads, a small double chain of gold, Conus shells known to come from
the Indian Ocean, large amounts of copper and other minerals which fed the metal
industry, and the charcoal for smelting which the river valley did not produce itself.
StratigraphyTwo areas of excavation (Pec and L) and some sondages provide evidence for the
sequence of events in City I. The foundation of the city took place c. 3000 BC. A level
of earth mixed with ash, about 50 – 75 cm thick, was brought in and laid down over the
whole area. Work with metals began from this first level. The only evidence for the first
buildings comes from the Building with Stone Foundations which lay below the Ishtar
temple, and from next door to this in Area L, where a homogenous architectural
sequence with floors that had been raised twice was found. A serious upheaval, perhaps
due to an earthquake, had turned the latest floor upside down preserving a quantity
of bones in two different rooms belonging to the same house. These included the
remains of two donkeys and of a young individual. The most significant information
was the evidence for a break in the stratigraphic sequence. We cannot tell how long it
lasted, but long enough for the road to the north to be significantly rerouted.
However, it seems that the most recent level recognised in this area of City I was not
the last in this phase; it only marked a level of clearance before a later rebuilding which
destroyed all the upper levels in order to establish foundations which were below the
final level (of City I). The object of this was to stop the building levels rising too high
above the level of the canal. It is not possible to say how thick the levels which have
disappeared were, or how long they may have lasted. The level of the new foundations
lay at 174. 50 – 175 m.
ArchitectureThe large Building with Stone Foundations, which lay in the oldest level in the sector
later occupied by the Ishtar temple is striking because of its dimensions (more than 32
m x 25 m), and its technical expertise with its foundation of stone blocks more than a
metre thick and the size of the rooms, up to 6 m wide and 12 m long. It must have been
an imposing building which shows the skill the earliest builders had in the creation of
–– J.-C. Margueron, trans H. Crawford ––