Michel Comte: Harran Earthworks

This book documents the first stage of a monumental land-art installation by Michel Comte on the site of the ancient Turkish city of Harran, due for completion in 2030. Located in Upper Mesopotamia about 20 kilometers from the present Syrian border, Harran was a vital trading post and lies at the heart of civilization’s beginnings: archaeological remains like those of nearby Goebekli Tepe show the earliest cultivation of crops and domestication of animals, and the first connections between religion and architecture. Populated by the Sabians, a community of star worshippers, Harran boasted an outstanding view of the constellation of Orion; here was the world’s first observatory, and in the ninth century AD the city become a leader in the Arabic world for the production of celestial globes. Collaborating with the Japanese architect Mitsunori Sano, Comte will initially chisel seven excavations up to 300 meters wide over an area of 120 kilometers; the scale and position of each site will mirror the formation of Orion in the night sky. Each evening between sunset and moonrise, the outline of each site will gradually be lit, linking the knowledge of the ancient Sabians with the technology of today.

Ancient land markings and contemporary land art are very closely connected. When I visited Harran for the first time, I thought right away about the Nazca Lines in Peru or Michael Heizer’s Double Negative in Nevada. We have not invented anything but there is a great importance to connect the past with the present and the future. Harran Earthworks is my own mission to connect the two. - Michel Comte