PALACE ARCHITECTURE
Palace architecture is represented in the topmost level by the Royal Palace G, whose
oldest core was probably founded in 2500 BC, and known to us, though incompletely,
in the shape it had between 2400 and 2300 BC, when it was destroyed by Sargon of
Akkad (Matthiae 2010 a: 71 – 72 ).
The building, with its annexes probably occupied the whole area of the Acropolis
of Tell Mardikh, approximately 20 , 000 / 30 , 000 square metres in area, and this was
probably the complex called SA.ZAxkiin the texts of the State Archives. Of this wide
area, only a part was recovered in the archaeological exploration, mostly in the parts
where the building was protected by collapses along the west border of the central
hillock of the site, for an overall surface of 4 , 700 square metres, corresponding to 17
to 23 per cent of the total extent of the building.
The Palace included several juxtaposed units (Figure 28. 5 ), and among those already
brought to light, the Court of Audience stands out: this was a large open space, outside
the building proper, where the king gave audience, or rather took part in public
ceremonies. Probably half of the original space of the Court is preserved, which was
probably originally a rectangular square, with porches along three sides at least, and the
dais for the royal throne built against the short north wall of the court. Soundings
made west of the preserved part of the court revealed that the Court of Audience was
not flanked there by other units of the Royal Palace, so the Court was a peculiar space,
in part belonging to the Palace, and in part outside it, a kind of hinge between palace
and town, and, at the same time, a monumental setting for royal ceremonies (Matthiae
1976 a, 1976 b, 1978 ).
Three main entrances and a smaller one opened through the Court façades. The
three main entrances all opened onto the east façade. From south to north there is the
door to the Administrative Quarter, the Monumental Stairway leading to the central
core of the Palace, and the Ceremonial Staircase, in the northeast tower, leading to
the private residence, probably located at a different level, or on a different floor.
A smaller door opened beside the royal dais, and led to a sector probably reserved
for the queen.
The Administrative Quarter certainly was the core sector of the Palace life, and
therefore of the whole town. It was called this because of the presence of the main room
of the State Archives, and because it contained, particularly in the Trapezoidal Store,
valuable artefacts, and precious imported stones (Figure 28. 6 ), among which lapis lazuli
and rock crystal are particularly noteworthy (Pinnock 1992 , 1986 ). Moreover, the
enlargement of the excavations showed that the Quarter, which lay east of the Court
of Audience, stretched around a small court with a porch on all four sides and a large
hall that opened to the south. The hall was divided in aisles by a line of columns, and
two small storerooms opened behind it, which still contained the remains of objects
of high-quality palace manufacture (Figure 28. 7 ) and several heaps of raw lapis lazuli,
originally kept inside cloth bags, whose impression was still visible in the soil (Pinnock
2006 b). The hall with columns is certainly a Throne Room, where the king held
private audiences, probably closely related with the acquisition of raw materials, with
special regard for precious imported goods, which were afterwards kept in the
storerooms, accessible only through the Throne Room.
The so-called Central Complex was the main core of the Palace on the Acropolis:
some storerooms for pottery vases and food supplies were identified on the south slope
–– Frances Pinnock ––