| Budget Amount *help |
¥1,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000)
Fiscal Year 1997: ¥600,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000)
Fiscal Year 1996: ¥1,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000)
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| Research Abstract |
1. Various archaeological finds of interest were recovered from Tell Mastuma during eight seasons of the excavations which were supported financially by Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research. The studies of the finds from a comparative viewpoint have been vigorously carried out by the younger archaeologists of research associates who participated in the excavations of the second research-term. A main goal of our studies is to establish a more reliable chronology of material culture in the Northern Syria ranging from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age. The results have been published one after another.
2. Takuro Adachi, one of the research associates, contributed to the attainment of our objective by studying what is called "Assyrian bowls", a characteristic type of pottery in the Iron Age. He searched extensively their examples which had been distributed widely in the Western Asia, and then he classified them into several types in order to review the chronological position of t
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he examples of Tell Mastuma and those found in ldlib region.
3. A study of female figurines, which are often regarded as Astarte, was rounded off by Shin'ichi Nishiyama and Satoru Yoshizawa who are also research associates. They presented an aspect of their function on the basis of the minute observations of the S7 examples and the examination of their intrasite context. Imported Greek pottery, which were sometimes found together with the figurines, suggests close contact with the West while Northern Syria was under the yoke of the Persian Empire.
4. Regarding metal objects, 131 pieces were unearthed in total during the excavations of the second research-term. Their stratigraphical distribution shows that iron was not so common in Level 1-3 (approximately 10th century BC) in comparison with bronze. However, iron objects dominated in frequency over bronze ones in Level 1-2 (approximately 9th century BC). This fact suggests that rapid progress in diffusion of iron objects was made in Level 1-2. Typological study of metal objects was made by Hidetoshi Tsumoto, a research associate. Besides, four specimens of iron objects were analyzed scientifically by Hideo Akanuma, a curator at Iwate Prefectural Museum. He concluded that all of them were made of steel.
5. Studies of artifacts other than mentioned above, such as those made of stones, bones, horns, shells etc., are still under study. The results will be published promptly in journals, especially in the bulletin of our museum. Great progress was made in our examinations and analyses of the objects of Tell Mastuma thanks to Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research. Now we have reached a point from which comprehensive studies should be made from a comparative viewpoint covering architectural remains and structure of the settlement itself as well as artifacts. Less
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