Basic study of masonry techniques used for the construction of stone walls of castles

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13412
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 03050:Archaeology-related
• Research Institution: Gangoji Institute for Research of Cultural Property
• Principal Investigator: SAKAMOTO SHUN 公益財団法人元興寺文化財研究所, 研究部, 研究員 (40808903)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 城郭石垣 / 採石・加工技術 / 矢穴技法 / 石工

Outline of Final Research Achievements

I classified the technical characteristics of castle stone walls from the Middle Ages to the late Tokugawa period archeologically, and aimed at the establishment of the technical index that was utilizable at a place of the stone wall maintenance. I collected an excavation example and the remains of castle having stone wall remains, and I performed a field work in the remains of 51 places of castle ruins.
It was necessary to arrest elements such as piling-stones method and chisel hole technique, the regionality of corners-cut square part and Ishibe old compositely, and the technical aspect of the castle stone wall reconfirmed that it was an extremely complicated structure. On the other hand, the processing method of building stones, the stone placing method of the Interfilling stones were able to clarify possibility caught as factor that reflected the technical characteristic of the mason.

Free Research Field

考古学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究において、城郭石垣の石積み技術が間詰石に着目し、矢穴技法や従来の視点である隅角部や築石部の石積方法を複合的に分析することによって石工単位で型式的分類ができる可能性を明らかにすることができた。これは、石垣の特徴を石工の技術として理解することに繋がり、文化財として石垣を修理する際に当時の石工技術を反映することを可能にするものである。
中・近世の石工については、一部の文献史料に僅かしか記述が認められず、具体的様相は判明していないことの方が多い。本研究の成果は、石工とその技術を考古学的に明らかにする端緒を得たことでも大きな意義がある。