AccScience Publishing / AC / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ac.4239
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ARTICLE

Constructing the image of ancient cities and the art of place-making through cultural, archeological, and architectural interpretations

Tarek Teba1*
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1 School of Architecture, Art and Design, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, Hampshire, United Kingdom
AC, 4239 https://doi.org/10.36922/ac.4239
Submitted: 15 July 2024 | Accepted: 12 October 2024 | Published: 19 November 2024
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution -Noncommercial 4.0 International License (CC-by the license) ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ )
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Abstract

The image of the city is an important notion in urban studies that has been discussed by different scholars and from different tangible and intangible perspectives. In the case of ancient cities that come to us in ruined and fragmented conditions, the image of the city can be a useful vehicle for understanding these sites and their values. Understanding and reconstructing the image of ancient cities helps in illustrating the past civilizations’ art of crafting their urban agglomerations and how their social and cultural values inform this art practice. Therefore, this article develops theoretical discussion around the image of ancient cities, through which valuable architectural, urban, social, and cultural dimensions are extrapolated and consequently, the socio-urban structure and image of these cities can be interpreted and articulated. Taking the city of Ugarit, an archeological site of a Bronze Age capital city in Syria, as a case study, the article employs an in-depth exploration of archeological reports and discovered text, alongside onsite architectural and urban analysis and observations, to construct the unique urban and architectural image of the city and the underpinning political, socioeconomic and cultural dimensions that shaped it over time. The work contributes to unveiling the Ugaritic people’s art and architecture practices that informed their final place-making and the image of their city. The article concludes with the construction of the overall internal and external images of the city of Ugarit and consequently informs the future urban conservation and tourism strategies of the whole site, and accordingly individual areas and structures.

Keywords
The image of the city
Ugarit
Bronze Age
Architecture and rituals
Meaning of architecture
Urban forms
City and identity
Ancient art of place-making
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The author declares that he has no competing interests.
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Arts & Communication, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4090 Published by AccScience Publishing
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