Master Builders
Today, the professions of architect, engineer and construction worker are well-known. Yet, from the earliest civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome, the "master builders," who planned and directed the design and construction of many of the greatest structures, held one of the most prestigious positions in society. The fact that some of these structures -- thousands of years old -- remain standing, and many of these same engineering sciences are still used, pay tribute to the abilities of these master craftsmen who were responsible for all steps in the "design-bid-build" project delivery method.
Before the existence of master builders in design and construction, the Code of Hammurabi referred to building as a simple process. Produced approximately between 1792 to 1750 B.C., this is the first known building code. Its rules and responsibilities and acceptable standards of workmanship were carved on stone tablets. Failure to adhere to these standards led to stiff and sometimes fatal penalties (Jackson 5). The code addressed the work of a master builder. It is interesting in that it viewed faulty design and improper construction as one unit (Beard, Loulakis and Wundrum 13) with five specific laws were geared towards the builder: 1) If a builder builds a house for someone, does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death; 2) If it kills the son of the owner, the son of the builder shall be put to death; 3) If it kills a slave of the owner, then he shall pay slave for slave to the owner of the house; 4) If it ruins goods, he shall make compensation for all that has been ruined and inasmuch as he did not construct properly this house which...
If then the walls seem toppling, the builder must make the walls solid from his own means (ibid 15). Thus, it is clear that some sort of established building tradition was in place, although not a great deal is known about it. Nevertheless, it was demonstrably urban and comprised a form of social status. There was a rise in status for the most experienced of the builders and they would come later to be designated "master builders." These builders gained greater skill with the demands of urbanization and civic projects. Those cities with advanced opportunities for builders would become civilisations with construction at the centre (Jackson 5).
Mesopotamia
The first use of a term equivalent to "master builder" occurred as early as the religious texts and building inscriptions in Mesopotamia, the "cradle of civilization" in the valley of the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers and later the Indus and Nile River areas. Excellent agricultural conditions led from the evolution of the hunter-gatherer society to agricultural communities with sustained farming methods and permanent constructions within walled areas. Today, this area which is now part of Iraq, once included lavish city-state kingdoms such as Sumer, Babylon, and Assyria from about 5,000 to 500 B.C.
Kapelrud explains that many of the accounts of temple building, which were noted by Gudea of Lagash, Moses and Solomon as well as writings in the Ras Shamra tablets of the early 14th century and the Babylonian Enuma elish, included similar steps in architectural construction such as: 1) an indication that…
