Stone temples rising from the deserts of the ancient Near East were meant to embody the power of the gods.
Now, a new study shows that the people who built them were bound by strict religious laws, harsh penalties, and a tightly organised professional hierarchy.
Research led by Dr. Aleksandra Kubiak-Schneider of the University of Wrocław is uncovering the hidden world of temple builders who worked between the 1st century BC and the 3rd century AD, during the Roman and Parthian periods.
Drawing on inscriptions from sites such as Hatra in northern Mesopotamia, Palmyra in Syria, and Nabataea in today’s Jordan, the project reconstructs the lives of craftsmen associated with the cults of the Arab goddess Allat and the Syrian goddess Atargatis.
As part of a grant from Poland’s National Science Centre, Dr. Kubiak-Schneider compiled a database of about 120 inscriptions referring to temple construction and decoration. The results appear in the book Serving the Gods: Artists, Craftsmen, Ritual Specialists in the Ancient World.
The inscriptions reveal that temples were sacred spaces governed by severe rules. In Hatra, damaging a stone block in the main sanctuary could be punished by death. Even tools stored inside the temple—hammers, chisels, axes—were protected by divine law. Stealing them could provoke supernatural retribution, such as drowning or burning, believed to be inflicted directly by the offended deity.
Yet the walls of these sanctuaries were also filled with informal graffiti. Ordinary worshippers were allowed to scratch commemorative inscriptions, provided they were not blasphemous. These personal marks now serve as rare testimonies of everyday life around the temples.
Construction itself was a prestigious and demanding profession. Temples were designed to last forever and to dominate the urban landscape, which meant that every detail—from the bas-reliefs to the arrangement of columns—had to follow strict conventions. At the top of the hierarchy stood the “master builder,” responsible for the temple’s overall visual program and technical execution.
Despite their expertise, master builders had limited artistic freedom. In Wadi Rum, royal authority controlled the work; in Hatra, commissions were issued by high-ranking temple officials and rulers; in Palmyra, priests and elite priestly families dictated both religious practice and design.
The craftsmen worked in multigenerational family workshops and organised guilds. In Hatra, one inscription names a guild of ten workers. Sons learned the trade from their fathers, often starting as sculptors before advancing to the more respected and better-paid role of master builder.
Together, these inscriptions transform anonymous ruins into a human story of devotion, discipline, and skilled labour—revealing the builders who shaped the sacred architecture of the ancient Middle East.
Sources : PAP
