Rock-cut tombs - Gankutsubo

Japanese: 岩窟墓 - がんくつぼ

…The Fourth Dynasty houses at Giza had nearly square plans with halls and rooms arranged asymmetrically around a central courtyard.
[Middle Kingdom]
The feudal lords, who gained power from the end of the Old Kingdom, built cave tombs carved into the slopes of rocky mountains in places such as Beni Hasan and Aswan. The front of the tombs was shaped like the facade of a building, and often had a portico.

From the Cemetery

...There are many mastabas at the foot of the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza (c. 2500 BC), which form the so-called "necropolis" (city of the dead), which in ancient Egypt was usually built on the west bank of the Nile near the capital. During the Middle Kingdom, in addition to pyramids, rock-cut tombs were built into the slopes of rocky mountains, and during the New Kingdom, tomb temples were built for worship, as seen in the necropolis of Thebes, and the tombs themselves were hidden underground in the Valley of the Kings or Valley of the Queens behind them to prevent robbery. The bodies of common people were also mummified and buried collectively in rock-cut caves or underground cemeteries.

*Some of the terminology used to refer to "rock-cut tombs" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

Japanese:

…ギーザにある第4王朝の住宅では，正方形に近い平面で，中央部の中庭の周りに広間や居室が非対称的に配置されていた。
［中王国時代］
　古王国末期から力を増した封建勢力である州侯たちは，ベニ･ハサンBeni Ḥasanやアスワンなど各地の岩山の斜面に掘りこまれた横穴式の岩窟墓を造った。前面は建築物の正面のように整形され，しばしば柱廊玄関が造られた。…

【墓地】より

…ギーザのクフ王の大ピラミッド(前2500ころ)のふもとには多数のマスタバがあるが，これらがいわゆる〈ネクロポリス(死者の都)〉を形づくり，古代エジプトでは通例首都に近いナイル川の西岸に設けられた。中王国時代には，ピラミッドのほかに岩山の斜面に掘り込まれた岩窟墓がつくられるようになり，新王国時代ではテーベのネクロポリスに見られるように墓神殿を建てて礼拝し，墳墓そのものは盗掘を防ぐため背後の〈王家の谷〉や〈王妃の谷〉の地下に隠した。庶民の遺体もミイラ化されて，岩窟や地下の共同墓地に集団的に葬られた。…

※「岩窟墓」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について | 情報

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