DOI issue:
Egypt
DOI article:Majcherek, Grzegorz: Excavations at Kom el-Dikka 1995
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26390#0019
located in the area of the Theatre, no traces of a cistern were
discovered under the courtT Rainwater appears to have been
drained from the court through a hole made in the southern wall,
emptying into a canal leading outside to the street sewer. A well
preserved section of this canal was uncovered in the eastern part of
loc. 11.
A variety of building techniques is evinced in the
construction of the house. Most of the walls, especially the outer
walls which exceed 0,50 m in thickness, were constructed of large
regular blocks in the technique. The pillar
technique was used in the walls of the court; pillars of large blocks
were erected at intervals in the intercolumnar spaces and the
sections in between were filled with small stones.
Exploration of the fill inside the house yielded many finds to
illustrate the rich repertory of interior decoration. Limestone and
stucco cornices, listels, fluted columns, etc., were accompanied by
a variety of coloured plaster fragments. Examination of the
preserved plaster permitted two basic phases to be distinguished in
the painted decoration, both of them operating with a similar sets
of colours and compositions. The dominant designs are vertical
and horizontal bands of colour, mostly using blue, but also
employing yellow and dark grey. The more complicated elements
of the compositions include a peacock eye and running dog
designs.
Of particular interest are finds of fine marble statuary
fragments originating from loc. 11 and the south-eastern corner of
the court. Their original location inside the house is impossible to
determine at present; some of the fragments should be considered
clearly as used as fill in a small platform erected in this part
of the building. The finds include: a portrait head of a child
(inv. 4384 ) ; a female head (inv. 4386); a male torso (inv. 4385),
most probably a miniature replica of Hermes by Praxiteles; and
5
Cf. A4M VI, 1994 (1995), pp. 11-20, fig. 1.
17
discovered under the courtT Rainwater appears to have been
drained from the court through a hole made in the southern wall,
emptying into a canal leading outside to the street sewer. A well
preserved section of this canal was uncovered in the eastern part of
loc. 11.
A variety of building techniques is evinced in the
construction of the house. Most of the walls, especially the outer
walls which exceed 0,50 m in thickness, were constructed of large
regular blocks in the technique. The pillar
technique was used in the walls of the court; pillars of large blocks
were erected at intervals in the intercolumnar spaces and the
sections in between were filled with small stones.
Exploration of the fill inside the house yielded many finds to
illustrate the rich repertory of interior decoration. Limestone and
stucco cornices, listels, fluted columns, etc., were accompanied by
a variety of coloured plaster fragments. Examination of the
preserved plaster permitted two basic phases to be distinguished in
the painted decoration, both of them operating with a similar sets
of colours and compositions. The dominant designs are vertical
and horizontal bands of colour, mostly using blue, but also
employing yellow and dark grey. The more complicated elements
of the compositions include a peacock eye and running dog
designs.
Of particular interest are finds of fine marble statuary
fragments originating from loc. 11 and the south-eastern corner of
the court. Their original location inside the house is impossible to
determine at present; some of the fragments should be considered
clearly as used as fill in a small platform erected in this part
of the building. The finds include: a portrait head of a child
(inv. 4384 ) ; a female head (inv. 4386); a male torso (inv. 4385),
most probably a miniature replica of Hermes by Praxiteles; and
5
Cf. A4M VI, 1994 (1995), pp. 11-20, fig. 1.
17