Fiche du document
2023
- handle: 10670/1.b6mko0
- isbn: 978-94-6426-225-4
- hal: hal-04544285
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/ , info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess
Mots-clés
Mud-brick silo Experimental archaeology Grain storage Building materials Building techniques Ancient Egyptian art ArchaeologySujets proches
Grains Cereal grains Cereals BreadstuffsCiter ce document
Adeline Bats et al., « The Egyptian mud-brick silo. Technical and functional analysis of a grain storage device », HAL-SHS : architecture, ID : 10670/1.b6mko0
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Résumé
Mud-brick silos are regularly identified in Egyptian archaeological sites and in “daily life” scenes depicted in private tombs since the Old Kingdom. These storage facilities for grain and bulk foodstuffs are present in several types of settlements and associated with various buildings such as temples or dwellings. As well as the pit-silo, the free-standing silo preserves foodstuff by creating an airtight atmosphere. However, several questions linked to the long-term conservation of grains need to be explored further. The first issue concerns the architectural elements: what was the role played by the building materials and techniques in insulating the crops from the outside atmosphere? How long and how much do seeds retain their germinative properties when stored in a free-standing silo? How the risks of spontaneous combustion and gas emissions were handled? To try to answer these questions, an experimental archaeology project bringing together Egyptologists, architects and agronomists was initiated in 2021. This article presents the methodology used and the first stages of the project, from the study of the iconographical, archaeological and ethnographic evidence – including building materials and techniques – to the construction of two silo prototypes in France. In addition, the ensiling of barley in the second silo prototype and the following grain monitoring are described in detail along with the results obtained and future perspectives.