Mesopotamisch Aardewerk fundamentsteen (Zonder Minimumprijs)

ITEM: Foundation brick
MATERIAL: Pottery
CULTURE: Mesopotamian
PERIOD: 3rd - 2nd millenium B.C
DIMENSIONS: 120 mm x 225 mm x 72 mm
CONDITION: Good condition. Includes scanned document from Artonline (see last picture)
PROVENANCE: Ex German private collection, F.B., acquired in Artonline, France, 2022. Ex German private collection, Lux, 2019.

Comes with Certificate of Authenticity and European Union export license

If you bid outside European Union and win the item, we must request a new export license to your country and the shipment will delay between 3 - 5 weeks.

The Mesopotamian foundation brick, often found in temples and palaces, served as a crucial votive and documentary object in ancient Near Eastern construction practices. Rather than just being a structural component, these special bricks or foundation deposits were ritually placed beneath the structure's foundations—particularly at corners, doorways, or perimeters. This practice was deeply intertwined with the ideology of kingship and the divine world. By embedding inscribed bricks or figures (sometimes in clay boxes) into the earth, the king sought to secure the favor and protection of the gods for the new building and to symbolically anchor the structure to the sacred ground

What distinguishes a Mesopotamian foundation brick is the presence of an inscription, typically written in Sumerian or Akkadian cuneiform. These texts invariably record the name and titles of the ruling monarch, the name of the deity the temple was dedicated to, and details about the building project, such as the construction or restoration of the temple. For example, bricks from the Ur III period often bear the name of King Ur-Nammu, celebrating his building works and his title "King of Sumer and Akkad." These inscriptions functioned as a perpetual record of the king's piety and power, ensuring his name would be remembered by the gods and by future rulers who might uncover the deposit during subsequent building phases.

Foundation bricks were a small, but ritually significant, part of the wider Mesopotamian architectural tradition which relied heavily on brick construction, as stone was scarce in the region. Most buildings used sun-dried mud bricks, which led to a cycle of decay, leveling, and rebuilding on the same site over centuries, resulting in raised mounds known as tells. Foundation deposits—which included both inscribed bricks and figures (like foundation pegs depicting the king carrying a basket of earth)—were integral to this cycle. They connected the ruler, the structure, and the divine mandate, proclaiming that the king was obedient to the gods' architectural wishes, thus guaranteeing the community's prosperity and the building's spiritual integrity.