古代末期のアレクサンドリアと後背地域のネットワーク

生活雑器分布圏の史的背景

抄録

In regard to the Pirenne Thesis, a study should be made on how the medieval system was established and its relationship to late antiquity of Egypt. Accordingly, in this paper, the focus was on daily wares dating back to the Byzantine and early Islamic periods. The region, which most typically reflected the socio-economic system in Byzantine Egypt could be the Alexandria and Mareotis waterfront regions. Archaeological relics from Kellia show that these regions were characterized by the distribution of two kinds of Byzantine wares. One is “Late Roman C·D Ware” produced in Asia Minor and Cyprus, and could be a reflection of the Byzantine control of the Alexandrian market. Another is local ware, so-called “Abu Mina Group”, which can be divided into two groups, amphorae and pilgrim flasks, that are thought to reflect the economic and religious aspects of the region.
From the topographical point of view, the network of Lake Mareotis and many canals, sustained the Mareotis region where the daily life, wine and olive production, fishing, etc. flourished in the Roman-Byzantine period. Coptic religious factors also seemed to effect the circulation of those daily wares. Therefore, Mediterranean cultural factors and local factors compounded the assemblage of relics and formed a mosaic patchwork in this region. This may be typical socio-economic aspect of late antiquity in Egypt.
How Islamic influence has changed this system is not clear yet, but recent archaeological evidences indicate that from around the 9th century, some ceramics influenced by the Nubian culture prevailed, and if these ceramic wares were transported along with gold, emeralds and slaves, it can be recognized that a new “Islamic network” was established as its historical background and that the medieval lifestyle was completed around the 10th century, in the Fatimid period.