Construction Of Tombs Research Articles

石製およびガラス製容器を模倣した彩文土器から見た第18王朝後半のディール・アル=マディーナの絵師

It is well known that people in Deir el-Medina engaged in the construction and decoration of royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. Thousands of hieratic texts from the site revealed the social history, economy, and organization from the Nineteenth to Twentieth Dynasties. However, Deir el-Medina in the Eighteenth Dynasty has not yet been well studied due to the dearth of the inscriptions. This paper aims to examine the painted pottery imitating stone or glass vessels in order to discuss artisans' painting techniques at Deir el-Medina in the late Eighteenth Dynasty.The painted pottery imitating stone or glass vessels is characteristic of Theban funerary assemblages in the late Eighteenth Dynasty. Vessels from Theban tombs (excluding Deir el-Medina) are supposedly decorated by artisans who painted Theban tomb walls—given the close connections between the stone or glass vessels represented in tomb paintings and the decorative style on the actual painted pottery. On the other hand, the examples from Deir el-Medina were decorated by artisans within Deir el-Medina itself because the decorative motifs are very unique and do not occur at other contemporary sites in the Theban necropolis. Therefore, comparative studies shed new light on the artisan's painting techniques at Deir el-Medina.As a result, it was possible to discern difference in the motifs, painting techniques and productive skills between the two areas. The quality of the painted pottery imitating stone or glass vessels from Deir el-Medina is inferior to those from the Theban tombs. Only simple decoration such as dots or lines is executed; Deir el Medina painted pottery also does not exhibit a white slip background or varnish coating.To conclude, it is deduced that the artisans in Deir el-Medina did not have the same highly developed painting techniques compared to the artisans who decorated the Theban tombs.

Between Earth and Sky There Are Only a Few Large Boulders: Sovereignty and Monumentality in Central Madagascar

Stone is not only good to build with but to think with as well. Rural populations in the area of Imerina in central Madagascar continue to recognize certain boulders and large stones as associated with supernatural/chthonic forces and they continue to use stone in the construction of tombs and standing stones. The royal oral traditions of Merina monarchs recorded in the 19th century associated early as well as latter ruling sovereigns with stone constructions and the mounting of sacred boulders during various rituals. Such royal use of stone was not a simple and straightforward appropriation of local symbols and world view. It was distinct from but articulated with local practices and beliefs. This may be revealed in aspects of late 18th century royal construction with stone which, while making use of the “muscle” of local populations, may also have made use of the “mind” of full-time ritual specialists from the east coast of the island. Archaeological data, royal oral traditions and ethnographic work with contemporary ritual specialists involved in constructions using large cut stones serve as sources of information for this discussion.

LANDFORM TRANSFORMATION IN THE ANCIENT TIMES IN THE “SEKKASEN” REGION, WESTERN PART OF CENTRAL JAPAN

Most landforms which we see now do not reflect excludingly the results of natural forces. They were formed in various times of the past by pure natural processes, by natural processes affected by man and/or throughly by human activities, and they were later in some measure modified. In the Sekkasen region in Osaka Prefecture mentioned here, landform transformations were remarkable from the 5th to the 12th century. They are summarized as follows; Many of the small old tombs are located on the tops of hills, on the ridges of lower hills and upper terraces. On the contrary, most of the big old tombs, the biggest of which amounts to 106m3 in volume, were constructed on middle and lower terraces. The direct transformations by the construction of old tombs were excavation and accumulation of soils, and the secondary transformations were coused by soil erosion, increase of the width of rivers and of the volume of sediments, changes of river courses and so on. Next, ruins of the kiln of the “Sue-ki” were extensively distributed on the hills and the terraces. In case of the Senpoku Hills, 70% of the ruins of the kilns are concentrated on the slopes of hills and the cliffs of terraces. By construction of these kilns, not only landforms but also vegetation were remarkably modified. As the concentrating area of the ruins of the kiln coincides with the area of the Senpoku New Town, about 80% of these ruins were destroyed and disappeared by the construction of roads and housing lots. The aim of the construction of huge reservoirs and ditches in this region was to irrigate the terraces. While the reservoirs were built in the lower to upper reaches of the rivers, the ditches were dug to conduct water of the east rivers to the terraces of the west. At the middle of the 5th century, the middle terrace, where the relative height from the flood plain was the smallest, was chosen to construct a reservoir, and at first the “Yosami-ike” Reservoir was constructed. Its aim was to reserve temporarily the water of the former Amano River and dissected valleys which cut into the terraces, and to send water to the lower reaches of the river afterwards. The “Hario-no-taiko” Ditch was constructed at the middle of the 6th century mainly to conduct water of the former Tsuzuyama River into the middle terrace of the west. The excavated length on the terrace amounted to 2, 000m, and the irrigable area was about 550 ha. Further, the “Komuku-no-taiko” Ditch was constructed about the end of the 6th century for the same purpose. Total length of the ditches was about 6, 000m, and the irrigable area on the terrace was about 300 ha. The “Sayama-ike” Reservoir was constructed by damming up the whole valley plain formed by the former Amano River at the beginning of the 7th century when exploiting of terraces of the lower reaches was in advance and the need to irrigate the upper reaches of the river became pressing. It is considered that at the beginning of the construction the length of the north bank was about 300m and the area of the reservoir was about 20 ha. It was, however, enlarged to more than 50 ha in 1608. It took today's shape by the reconstruction of it in the 1920's. In addition to this, with construction of the reservoir, the “Yoge” Ditch was dug as a draining ditch extending over 1, 000m in total. By introduction of the “Jon” grid-system, an ancient land division system, not only the lands with micro-reliefs were levelled, but also old dissected valleys, irrigation and draining ditches, footpaths separating rice fields and so on were arranged in order.

Perception et réalisation de l'espace dans la société merina

L'importance du peuplement des Hautes Terres centrales de Madagascar a toujours surpris l'observateur. Pourquoi, dans une île sous-peuplée, ce rassemblement humain sur des terres réputées pauvres, quand tant de régions plus riches, dont certaines ne sont guère éloignées, attendent encore des défricheurs ? Les justifications classiques, par une position de refuge ou une plus grande salubrité du climat (qui n'est pas toujours évidente) n'ont jamais pleinement satisfait, et on a, de longue date, souligné la remarquable capacité d'organisation de l'espace dont ont fait preuve Merina et Betsileo, qui purent ainsi capitaliser leurs excédents de population : la mise en valeur des plaines de Tananarive avant l'époque coloniale en est la marque la plus frappante. Triomphe de l'organisation sur une nature hostile ? L'explication semble un peu facile. En fait, les Hautes Terres centrales, sans pittoresque tropical, ne sont pas des terres pauvres, et les fortes densités qu'elles portent nous ont semblé, en définitive, raisonnables.