Editing Sumer (section)

===Architecture===
{{Main|Sumerian architecture|Ziggurat|Mudhif}}
{{See also|Clay nail}}
[[File:Ancient ziggurat at Ali Air Base Iraq 2005.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The ''[[Great Ziggurat of Ur]]'' ([[Dhi Qar Governorate]], Iraq), built during the [[Third Dynasty of Ur]] (c. 2100 BC), dedicated to the moon god [[Sin (mythology)|Nanna]]]]
The Tigris-Euphrates plain lacked minerals and trees. Sumerian structures were made of plano-convex mudbrick, not fixed with [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] or [[cement]]. Mud-brick buildings eventually deteriorate, so they were periodically destroyed, leveled, and rebuilt on the same spot. This constant rebuilding gradually raised the level of cities, which thus came to be elevated above the surrounding plain. The resultant hills, known as [[Tell (archaeology)|tells]], are found throughout the ancient Near East.

According to [[Archibald Sayce]], the primitive [[pictogram]]s of the early Sumerian (i.e. Uruk) era suggest that "Stone was scarce, but was already cut into blocks and seals. Brick was the ordinary building material, and with it cities, forts, temples and houses were constructed. The city was provided with towers and stood on an artificial platform; the house also had a tower-like appearance. It was provided with a door which turned on a hinge, and could be opened with a sort of key; the city gate was on a larger scale, and seems to have been double. The foundation stones—or rather bricks—of a house were consecrated by certain objects that were deposited under them."<ref name="Sayce">{{cite book |last=Sayce (Reverend) |first=A. H. |author-link=Archibald Sayce |url=https://archive.org/stream/archaeologyofcun00sayc/archaeologyofcun00sayc_djvu.txt |title=The Archaeology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions |publisher=Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge |year=1908 |edition=2nd revised |location=London, England; Brighton, England; New York |pages=98–100}}</ref>

The most impressive and famous of Sumerian buildings are the ziggurats, large layered platforms that supported temples. Sumerian cylinder seals also depict houses built from reeds not unlike those built by the [[Marsh Arabs]] of Southern Iraq until as recently as 400 CE. The Sumerians also developed the [[arch]], which enabled them to develop a strong type of dome. They built this by constructing and linking several arches. Sumerian temples and palaces made use of more advanced materials and techniques, such as [[buttress]]es, [[Alcove (architecture)|recesses]], half [[column]]s, and [[clay nail]]s.