PARIS.- Crossed by the only two biblical 'rivers of paradise' known today, whose importance and danger may have inspired the Flood myth, ancient Mesopotamia was also the place where irrigation was first invented and developed.
Journeying through a bygone world where water was omnipresent, so unlike the same region that has become so arid today, the exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to draw lessons from the ancient Mesopotamians' relationship to water.
Artdaily Recommended · Paid Link
Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins
By Ariane Thomas
A richly illustrated volume exploring the art, cities, writing, and early achievements of ancient Mesopotamia, where civilization first took shape.
See it on Amazon → As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
From the human world to the divine, through the natural setting that characterises the region, visitors will travel to the heart of this primeval element, source of all life and prosperous civilisation, but also of dramatic destructions and periods of turmoil, such as the very first conflicts around water resources – all framed within our contemporary context.
These early experiments in mastering water through artificial transformations of the natural environment led to the invention and development of the earliest known hydraulic structures (canals, bridges, aqueducts, pipe systems, artificial lakes and more) in Mesopotamia. These resulted in wide-ranging changes to the land and its inhabitants, whose long-term consequences, both positive and negative, will be explored in the exhibition.
Explicitly designed with environmental sustainability in mind, this exhibition draws from the extensive collection of the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, which lends itself well to this aim. As such, in addition to a dedicated space (Room 230) in which 100 Mesopotamian works are displayed, it is being held throughout the Department's permanent galleries. Spanning 8,000 years and the area from Central Asia to the Mediterranean, the twenty-seven selected works offer fresh perspectives on water and environmental issues from the past and present.
« 'The exhibition will take us on an exploration of water in Mesopotamia: a creative and destructive force, a sacred primeval element – but also a key issue, embodied by water policy, as a source of life and power as well as a driver of conflict. »
EXHIBITION CURATORS
Supervisory curator: Ariane Thomas, Director of the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities, curator in charge of the collections from Late Mesopotamia.
Co-curators: Barbara Couturaud and Grégoire Nicolet, Mesopotamian Collection Managers, Department of Near Eastern Antiquities.
EXHIBITION TRAIL
Introduction
Dedicated to the fundamental importance of water in the ancient Mesopotamia – the land where irrigation first developed – the exhibition introduced in Room 230 unfolds throughout the Department of Near Eastern Antiquities. The selection of works on display extends an invitation to rediscover the museum's Near Eastern antiquities through the prism of this vital resource. In doing so, it also raises environmental considerations, drawing connections between these remnants of the past and the challenges of our own time.
Water at the Heart of the Divine
A vital yet destructive element, water held a central place in Mesopotamia in the relationship between humans and the gods. It was at once a symbol of life, death and regeneration. As a primordial force, water lies at the origin of the world in several creation myths. Fresh or salt, subterranean or celestial, it was the visible manifestation of invisible powers, on which the balance of the world depended. Poured as an offering or spilled on the ground, it was central to rituals. It appeased divine anger and recalled the fragility of the human world, caught between drought and flood, life and chaos
Water at the Heart of the Mesopotamian Landscape
Stretching between the Tigris and the Euphrates, Mesopotamia means 'land between the rivers' in ancient Greek. Shaped by water, this territory encompassed an array of remarkably diverse ecosystems: mountains which held river sources; irrigated plains; wetlands; and the coast of the gulf. In the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the sea extended much further north than it does today. Southern Mesopotamia was a world of canals and marshlands, where birds, fish, turtles, buffalo, reeds and date palms thrived. Cities such as Lagash and Larsa were truly the 'Venices' of the ancient world, where boats were the primary means of transport.
Water at the Heart of Power
Regarded as a divine gift, water endowed kings with authority. Great royal projects, including the construction and maintenance of canals, dykes, bridges and aqueducts, ensured the land's prosperity and illustrated the piety of its sovereigns. Water served as both a passage connecting cities for river and maritime trade, and a border separating kingdoms, sparking numerous conflicts over its control. It was even used as a weapon at times – diverted, for instance, to deprive a neighbouring city of this resource. A source of wealth and power, water was central to the most important projects and the longest-standing rivalries.
