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''Fossatum Africae'' ("African ditch") is a linear defensive structure (''limes'') claimed to extend over 750 km or more〔This figure depends very much on the way it is measured over the intervals where the Fossatum was not constructed or has disappeared, and includes a significant section which may not be a ''fossatum''.〕 in northern Africa constructed during the Roman Empire to defend and control the southern borders of the Empire in Africa. It is considered to have many similarities of construction to Hadrian's Wall at the northern border of the Empire in Britain. ==History== There is only a single mention of the Fossatum (as such) in historical literature prior to the 20th century.〔However, the name ''Fossatum Africae'' was used during the Middle Ages in connection with the history of Charlemagne, with a different meaning. Originally the word ''fossatum'' simply meant ''ditch'', but over time it came to also mean a fort protected by a ditch, or basically any fortified place. When it says in the ''Annales regni Francorum'' attributed to Eginhard that a 9th-century Aghlabid prince ruled ''in confinio Africae in Fossato'' it is not referring to the subject of this article but to the fortified city of Qayrawan or one of its satellites: C. Courtois, “Reliques carthaginoises et légende carolingienne”, ''Revue de l'histoire des religions'' v.129 (1945), 57–83.〕 This occurs in a letter written by the co-emperors Honorius and Theodosius II to Gaudentius, the ''vicarius Africae'', in 409, and preserved in the ''Codex Theodosianus''.〔Bk. 7, par. 15.1〕 Noting that the ''fossatum'' had been established by the "ancients", the emperors warned the Roman citizens of Africa that if they did not maintain the ''limes'' and ''fossatum'' then the job (with associated land rights and other advantages) would be given to friendly barbarian tribes. Consequently, it is not known with certainty when the Fossatum was constructed. Of course, a structure of this size would be the work of centuries, and the archaeological excavation of the many forts and towns along its route has yielded many dates from the reign of Hadrian in the 2nd century to Constantine in the 4th century. Current opinion has not advanced since the discussion by Baradez〔Baradez 1949, ch. 11.〕 in 1949, who concluded that construction probably began after the first visit of Hadrian to Africa in 122 (and before or after his second visit in 128). This conclusion is based on the similarities with Hadrian's Wall in Britain and with what is known about Hadrian's concern to protect the Empire. Baradez also postulated a pulse of construction during the reign of Gordian III in the 3rd century, and finally abandonment of the Fossatum in 430-440 after the Vandal invasion.〔Baradez 1949, p. 162.〕 Having been built in an arid region of strong winds and blowing sand, the Fossatum quickly eroded and only traces remain. During the Middle Ages, Arab nomads of the Banu Hilal occupied much of the area and noticed southwest of Biskra a ditch which they called a ''saqiya'' (irrigation canal) and attributed it to a legendary Arab queen Bint al-Khass (or al-Krass), who was supposed to have built it to supply pilgrims to Mecca with water.〔Basset 1905 p. 25-26.〕 Elsewhere the remains of a wall associated with the Fossatum was attributed to ''al-Fara'un'' (Pharaoh).〔Baradez 1949 p. 114 notes a similar ditch in Morocco also attributed to Pharaoh.〕 Historians and archaeologists in the 19th century continued to believe that it was an irrigation canal, until at the beginning of the 20th century Gsell〔Gsell, 1903.〕 correctly identified it with the ''fossatum'' of the ''Codex Theodosianus''. However, the full extent of the Fossatum was not known until after World War II, when the use of aerial photography to locate archaeological sites was pursued by Col. Jean Baradez. He followed up the aerial work with traverses on the ground and excavations at many sites along its route. His resultant book, with many aerial and ground photographs, remains the standard work of reference. Ideas on the purpose of the Fossatum have evolved since Baradez' time. Whereas Baradez was a military man, and World War II just having finished with the military use of ditches very much in mind,〔Baradez 1949, p.140 n.2 cites an anti-tank ditch constructed by Rommel in Tunisia.〕 the military aspect of the Fossatum was emphasized. In the more peaceful modern era, the use of the Fossatum as a customs and migration control has been brought to the fore, suggested by inscriptions at Zaraï giving long lists of products and tariffs.〔See e.g. Trousset 2009 among others. The idea is not new, Baradez (1949 p. 139) was aware of the Zaraï inscriptions and mentioned very briefly the control of both transhumance and commercial traffic as additional uses.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fossatum Africae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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