(44)今回ご紹介するのは・・・
(44) This time I would like to introduce...
兵庫県姫路市にある瓢（ひさご）塚古墳（国指定）
The Hisago-zuka burial mound in Himeji City,
Hyogo Prefecture (designated by the national government).
最古級の前方後円墳で揖保川下流域の丁(よろ）古墳群に属する。
It is one of the oldest anterior-posterior round burial mounds and belongs to the Yoro burial mound group in the lower reaches of the Ibo River.
古墳へのアクセスでは、駐車場はなく、
住宅地をぬけた道横に案内板があり、前方部に続いている。
There is no parking lot to access the tomb, but there is an information board next to the road through the residential area, which leads to the front part of the tomb.
前方部の上りはじめは急斜面になっている。
The front part of the mound has a steep slope at the beginning of the ascent.
前方部頂からくびれ部にかけてなだらかに下り、
くびれ部から後円部へは35度くらいの急斜面となり頂へと至る。
It gently descends from the top of the front part to the neck part, and from the neck part to the back part, the slope is about 35 degrees steeper, leading to the top.
古墳は、くびれ部に至るまですきまなく住宅地に浸食・囲まれており、
よく今まで削平されずに残ったなと思う。
地元の理解ある人々が代々守っていたのだろう。
The mound is surrounded by residential areas without any gaps until it reaches the neck, and I wonder how it has remained unsculpted until now.
It must have been protected for generations by local people who understood the situation.
古墳の規模は発掘調査されていないため詳らかでない。
最大説をとると全長109ｍ、後円部径58ｍ、前方部幅40ｍの規模とされている。
The scale of the tomb is still unclear as it has not been excavated.
According to the largest theory, it is 109 meters long, 58 meters in diameter at the back, and 40 meters wide at the front.
後円部の高さは不明だが、周辺の住宅の高さや石室が露出していることから推定すると
三階建て（９ｍ）以上はあったと思われる、前方部は2階建て（６ｍ）以上と感じた。
The height of the posterior part is unknown, but based on the height of the surrounding houses and the exposed stone chambers, it is estimated to have been more than three stories (9m), and the front part was felt to be more than two stories (6m).
段築は後円部3段、前方部２段の可能性があり、墳丘表面には葺石が認められる。
There is a possibility that the tomb was built in three levels in the back and two levels in the front, and thatched stones were found on the surface of the mound.
埴輪の配置は確定されていない。
墳丘周縁では石垣状の列石が巡らされたと推測されるが、
周濠は認められていない。
The arrangement of haniwa (clay figurines) has not yet been determined.
It is assumed that a stone-wall-like row of stones was built around the mound's periphery, but no perimeter moat was found.
築造はAC300年代（４世紀ごろ・古墳時代初期）
It was built in the 300s AC (around the 4th century, early Kofun period).
前方部の形態が撥（ばち）形に開いていることから
最古式の古墳であり、当時の畿内ヤマト王権の大王墓クラスで、
一説には箸墓古墳（奈良県桜井市）と相似形とされ、
前方後円墳の成立を知るうえでも重要とのことだ。
It is the oldest type of burial mound because the front part of the mound is open in the shape of a bachi, and it is said to be similar to the great royal tombs of the Yamato Kingdom in the Kinai region at that time, and according to one theory, to the Hashihaka Tomb in Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture.
埋葬施設は後円部中心からややはずれた南縁に
竪穴式石室が露出しているが石室の長さ等は不明。
As for the burial facilities, a pit-type stone chamber is exposed on the southern edge, slightly off the center of the posterior circle, but the length of the chamber is unknown.
古式土師器や竹管文を押捺する特殊な壺形土器の破片が採取されている。
Fragments of archaic earthenware and special vase-shaped earthenware stamped with a bamboo pipe design were collected.
なお後円部中央部においても中心施設の存在が推測されている。
The existence of a central facility in the central part of the back circle is also inferred.
引用／現地説明版（Ｈ14）・文化遺産オンライン・ウイキペディア
Reference: Local Description (H14), Cultural Heritage Online, Wikipedia
翻訳／DeepL翻訳
*** Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version) ***