A pencil will do, thank you

‘A pencil will do, thank you’

Š Mar tin Hense & BLKVLD Uitgevers, Zandvoor t 2016 ISBN 978-90-807744-0-7 No par t of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, on-line reproduction or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the publisher.

Book and cover design by Lonneke Beukenholdt

Preface Martin Hense and I have been working in the same field for over 20 years. We met in the Egyptian Eastern Desert near the ruins of the ancient town of Berenike. Here we participated in one of the first excavations of both our careers. You get to know a person very well when you spend time in the relative isolation of the desert, living and working in tents and with hardly any privacy at all. Martin proved to be a great colleague to have around. He has very useful knowledge of all kinds of machinery or field equipment and can come up with practical and inventive solutions to problems. Believe me when I say that this is a much-appreciated quality in the middle of nowhere, 500 kilometers away from the next store or workshop.

Apart from his practical nature, Martin developed into an archaeological specialist who is capable of picking up very detailed and summary information and translating or transforming this into very concrete images of the past. He can do this very quickly, whether by hand or by computer. And I can tell from my personal experience that after staring at your few square meters of excavated area for weeks, it is a relief to be able to see a bigger picture or a bird’s-eye impression of the buildings you have been focusing on.

This makes you understand much more of your working area. Martin has developed in-depth knowledge of ancient building materials, architectural features and the technical possibilities of ancient cultures, allowing him to understand and interpret architectural features in the field. Early in his career, Martin had moved to the computer for his reconstructions, although many of the drawings in this book are a combination of hand drawn reconstructions and computer drawings. The use of a computer has made life easier, and fortunately, his computer drawings have never lost the interesting perspective or quality of his hand made drawing. >>

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I personally love his early work, the drawings he made in the 1990’s. Although, it must be said that the computer has for instance allowed him to reconstruct a painted wall from hundreds of plaster fragments. Over the years his work has brought him to Egypt and Syria, although Martin has worked in Dutch archaeology as well.

In recent years, Martin went back to excavate in the ancient town of Berenike in the south of Egypt; this time as the director of the Berenike Temple Project. In the outcome of this project, his love for architectural features can clearly be seen. The temple of Berenike, covered with more that thousand years of wind blown sand deposits, is excavated in a very scrutinous manner. And the reconstructions are beautiful and executed with obvious love for the site. You will find some of them in this book of course. I can hardly wait for more results as excavations continue there in the years to come. In the mean time I have had the pleasure of seeing this book come into existence as well. Some of the work I knew, some of his reconstructions were new to me. All of the illustrations have the same clarity and details that characterize Martin’s work. Hopefully you will enjoy this oeuvre summary as much as I have, and I am proud to be signing this brief introduction to it as a colleague and friend, Jolanda Bos

Content Content 05

Reconstructions 06 About the work of an archaeologist and reconstruction artist

58

Building materials 62

The last one 64 Information 65

5

where date dimensions walls roof and floors general

House on the decumanus maximus Berenike, Egypt Late 4th – 5th centur y AD 12+ x 8.5 meters Coral heads, gypsum and anhydrite, limestone, wood Acacia, date palm wood and palm ribs, clay, sand Re-used gypsum blocks and capitals

EGYPT

what

7

EGYPT

what where date

Roman for t of Abu Sha’ar Red Sea Coast , Egypt Early 4th centur y AD

dimensions

77 x 64 meters

outer walls

Hard stone cobbles and small boulders (from the mountains a few kilometers west of the for t)

towers inner walls roofs

White gypsum blocks Cobbles, mudbrick , plaster Wood, matting

9

THE NETHERLANDS

what where date dimensions material

Kinderhuis, only facade preser ved Rotterdam, the Netherlands 1886, renovated in 2005 15 x 29.5 x 20.5 meters Baked bricks, plaster, granite, wood, roof tiles

11

what where date dimensions material

Field oven Winterswijk , the Netherlands Built between 1832 and 1860 ca. 10 x 20 meters Baked brick

13

THE NETHERLANDS

EGYPT

what where date dimensions

The big rock temple of Sikait Eastern Deser t , Egypt 1st centur y AD or earlier Height facade 4.5 meters, width 21.8 meters (including chapels), depth 17.5 meters

material

Rock-cut in soapstone (talc schist), front of local talc schist blocks

15

what where date dimensions material

Seti I Temple of KanaĂŻs Eastern Deser t , Egypt Âą 1300 BC Width 8.45 meters, heigth 4.3 meters, depth 13.5 meters Rock-cut , por tico built of local limestone

17

what where date dimensions material

Entrance hall of the Djoser pyramid complex Saqqara, Egypt ca. 2650 BC Length 76 meters, height 10.5 meters Light Tura limestone, white gypsum mor tar

19

what where date dimensions

Catacombs of Kom al Shoqafa Alexandria, Egypt Late 1st - 4th centur y AD 3 levels, lowest level ca. 30 meters below surface, middle level 49 meters in length, width over 26 meters

material

Rock-cut

21

IRAN what

Dowlat Gate

where

Tehran, Iran

date dimensions material

1871 Width 28.8 meters, height 16.5 meters Baked bricks, glazed tiles, wood

23

THE NETHERLANDS what where date dimensions material

Nationaal Panorama Rotterdam, the Netherlands 1881 (demolished in 1887) ø 39 meters, height 21 meters Baked bricks, wood, cast iron, roof tiles

25

EGYPT

what where date dimensions houses temples

Island of Elephantine Aswan, Egypt 2300 BC and 1200 BC 400 x 500 meters (1200 BC) Mudbrick , wood, reed Local granite, limestone, mudbrick

27

JORDAN

what

Tomb facades

where

Petra, Jordan

date dimensions material

1st centur y BC - 1st centur y AD Width 8-10 meters, height 12-13 meters Rock-cut

29

THE NETHERLANDS

what where date dimensions

Wieldrecht straat Rotterdam, the Netherlands 1928 Height 12.8 meters, depth 12.7 meters, width houses 4.7 meters

material

Baked bricks, wood, roof tiles

31

THE NETHERLANDS

what where date dimensions material

Noorderpoor t , Nor thern town gate Rotterdam, the Netherlands Built before 1471, demolished in 1542 Width 8 meters, heigth 16 meters (estimated) Baked bricks, oak , roof tiles

33

THE NETHERLANDS

what where date dimensions

Horreum of Brielle Brielle, the Netherlands 1st centur y AD 4.75 x 18 meters, height 3.5 meters (estimated)

material

Alder, ash wood, reed

35

EGYPT

what

The mammisi (bir th house) of the temple of Tutu

where

Kellis, Dakhleh Oasis, Western Deser t , Egypt

date dimensions

Early 2nd centur y AD Height 5.0 meters, width 4.8 meters, length 12.0 meters

material

Mudbrick , plaster

37

where date dimensions material

The Southern Temple of Taffeh Nubia, Egypt 1st centur y AD 9.5 x 13 meters (temple building) Local sandstone, for the most impor tant element s probably sandstone from the quarr y of Ker tassi

EGYPT

what

39

what where date dimensions material

Burnt Village Tell Sabi Abyad, Syria ca. 6000 BC 50 x 30 meters (excavated area) Mudbrick , wood, reed

41

SYRIA

EGYPT

what where date dimensions

Gate of the Roman for t at Siket Near Berenike, Red Sea Coast , Egypt 76/77 AD 24 x 32 meters

walls and towers

Local cobblestones and small boulders

gate post s

White gypsum quarried nearby, wooden doors protected with iron or bronze

43

what where date dimensions

Ecclesiastical complex Berenike, Red Sea Coast , Egypt 5th centur y AD 27.0 x 19.3 meters, estimated height of the hall 3.5 - 4.5 meters

material

Coral, teak wood, anhydrite, gypsum

45

what where date dimensions material

Tomb of Djehutinakht Dayr al-Barsha, Egypt ca. 2000 BC Depth shaft 10.5 meters Rock-cut

47

what where

Hilltop for t Abraq, Eastern Deser t , Egypt

date

Ptolemaic Period (332 - 30 BC)

dimensions

Inner for t : 29 - 33 x 32 meters, outer walls ca. 160 x 98 meters

material

Local cobblestones and boulders, clay (wadi floor)

49

what where date dimensions walls roof and floors

House at a street with workshops Berenike, Egypt Late 4th – 5th centur y AD 9.3 x 9.0 meters Coral heads, gypsum and anhydrite, limestone, wood Acacia (local or Nile Valley), date palm wood and palm ribs (Nile Valley), clay, sand (local)

51

what where date dimensions

Hermitage with painted rooms Wadi Natrun, Egypt 5th - 6th centur y AD 44.8 x 59.0 meters, main building: 19.8 x 26.6 meters

material

Mudbrick , plaster

53

what where date dimensions

House with niches Berenike, Egypt Late 4th centur y AD 7.8 x 7.2 meters, height ca. 5 meters

walls

Coral heads, gypsum and anhydrite, limestone, wood

roof and floors

Acacia (local or Nile Valley), date palm wood and palm ribs (Nile Valley), clay, sand (local)

55

what where date

Tower of the monaster y of Deir Abu Musa al-Aswad Baramus, Wadi Natrun, Egypt 6th - 9th centur y AD

dimensions

16 x 16 meters, height ca. 15 - 18 meters

tower walls

Large blocks of local limestone

later suppor t wall

Small irregular blocks of limestone, plaster, wood

57

1991

When archaeologists dig up the remains of houses, buildings, temples and other architectural features, they hope to reconstruct the ancient lives and cultures of the people that once occupied these buildings. For this an array of specialties and disciplines are available and combined in the field. And just as an archaeo-botanist reconstructs the ancient diet, or the natural surroundings and climate; the reconstructions of buildings and architectural features are also required to sketch the picture of an ancient culture.

In order to be able to reconstruct buildings from the past, a very technical background is required.

The technological possibilities and limitations of both the people who made these buildings and the environment in which they lived, need to be understood first. It also requires a skill to interpret archaeological data and the smallest evidence of building materials. Because, while collapsed roofing material may be evident between the layers of sand deposited over hundreds of years, slight discoloration in the soil may be all there is left of what once was a plastered wall surface. For a reconstruction artist, this evidence of plaster makes all the difference.

Most drawings start in the field.

Here elevations drawings and plans are made of the excavated areas.

Not only the walls are documented

here, also layers of debris and sand are included in these drawings. The drawings and the descriptive notes by the archaeologists in the field, will allow for the first interpretation of the excavated situation. Then reconstruction sketches are made in which field sketches are refined and completed, based on literature describing similar architecture.

Also calculations to determine the likeliness of certain structures, like the strength of walls or the span of roof constructions, are executed.

Depending on the type of illustration needed, the sketches are the basis of a hand drawn reconstruction, a computer model or a combination of these two.

Of course, such a technological approach to reconstructions is not enough to make an interesting and appealing image. This also requires artistic skills and a sensible dose of imagination. This defines for instance the viewpoint or perspective of a reconstruction; or practical choices on what to leave out and what to incorporate in your reconstruction.

This will also determine that the faรงade of a building will deliberately be left as if cut open in the drawing, in order to show the interior of the building or the characteristics of the wall sections. However, from the same drawing, it must also be clear that the wall sections shown in the drawings do not reflect the way in

which archaeologist have found it, but the way in which the artist has chosen to represent the building techniques.

This is of course all a matter of artistic skills and conventions in archaeological ‘art’.

For example, the house on the maximus decumanus, the main street of the ancient city of Berenike, was clearly one of the more distinguished buildings of the ancient town. It was Possibly occupied by a senior official or a rich merchant of those days, judging by the architecture and the archaeological finds. The excavation in 2000 of this house uncovered all kinds of building material originally from the temple nearby that had been closed in the fifth century AD. The entrance gate of the temple was situated only 50 meters further, at the end of the main street. Stones from the temple, some of which even held an inscription, were clearly taken here and intended to further decorate the building. Already two capitals had been placed on either side of the entrance. Berenike was completely abandoned in the sixth century, and apparently the residents of this house left before the renovation of their house was completed. From the second floor no traces were found, but a stone staircase indicates that a second floor certainly existed. The space between the stone steps and the wall was bridged by a wooden staircase. What the interior of the

59

rooms were like is not clear, but it is likely from parallels that official areas were to be found on the ground floor and the more private quarters could be found upstairs.

The excavations also unearthed the remains of wood, which facilitated the reconstructions of the wall niches and the thresholds.

At the entrance to the courtyard is a bronze block was found in the threshold. This once was part of the pivot for a wooden door, and this even allowed the reconstruction of the way in which the door opened in antiquity.

1991

In the drawings on pages 59-61, some of the elements involved in a reconstruction, in this case the house depicted below, are shown.

61

brick

granite

limestone

wood

granite

schist

mudbrick

plastered wall

reed

marble

fossil corral

terra cotta

basalt

slate

white limestone

63

the last one...

what where date dimensions material

The Great Temple of Berenike Berenike, Egypt Late 4th - 5th centur y AD 11 x 16 meters, height of front hall 4 to 5 meters Anhydrite/gypsum blocks, acacia wood, slabs of calcite