REPAINTING OF THE CEILING PAINTING OF THE GREAT COLUMNED HALL AT THE MALKATA PALACE : Studies on the Malkata Palace III

Abstract

Concerning the painted ceiling fragments which must have belonged to the nave of the Great Columned Hall (lettered "Room H" by Tytus) of the main palace at Malkata, the quadruple spiral pattern is clearly visible beneath the depicted vultures. Judging from the traces seen typically on the fragments A-K in Fig. 2 (seen in photographs 1-9), it is proved that at first the ceiling of the nave was painted with a quadruple spiral pattern (phase I, Fig. 3), and subsequently the repainting must have been done (phase n, Fig. 4). The connection between the change of the ceiling painting and the sed-iestival might be pointed out.