抄録
The present paper is an attempt to make clear the process of the development of religious buildings in northern Mesopotamia, that is, from the phase which might be called “religious structure” to that of “temple”. The process could be observed in relation to the settlement around the building. In this point of view, the development of religious buildings from Hassuna-Samarra period to Late Gawra period can be devided into the following five stages: I. The stage in which the religious structure occupies a part of a building (Hassuna-Samarra period). II. The stage in which the religious structure develops into a building (Halaf period). III. The stage in which the religious structure occupies a section in the settlement (Early Ubaid period). IV. The stage in which the section of the religious structure increases its importance in the settlement (Late Ubaid-Middle Gawra period). VI. The stage in which the religious structure becomes the center of the settlement (Late Gawra period). Through the above classification, we can observe the explicit process of the development of religious buildings: from the phase of “religious structcure” to that of “temple”, with the result that the fifth stage corresponds to the period in which “religious structure” has attained the constant function as “temple”.
