Noteworthy Archaeological Sites


Issue 2015

Fukui Dōkutsu Historic Site:
A “cultural bridge” linking Paleolithic and Jōmon cultures.

Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Odake Shell Midden:
91 human skeletons are discovered, the largest number nationwide!

Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture

Higashi Nara:
A vase with a dōtaku design is@newly discovered.

Ibaraki City, Osaka Prefecture

Kabutozuka:
Two haniwa depicting women weaving cloth are recovered.

Shimotsuke City, Tochigi Prefecture

Dazaifu-related Site Group:
A prime Japanese example of an ancient city site.

Dazaifu City/Chikushino City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Echizen Kiln Site Group:
Advancements in productive technology come to light.

Echizen Town, Fukui Prefecture

Chateau Kamiya Former Winery:
Mysterious, unknown facilities are discovered at an Important Cultural Property building!

Ushikushi City, Ibaraki Prefecture

The Power of Culture for Reconstruction:
Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and buried cultural properties protection

Azuma-chō, Fukushima Prefecture / Takaōse, Miyagi Prefecture

Azuma-chō:
A core-type settlement of the Middle Jōmon period

Minamisōma City, Fukushima Prefecture

Takaōse:
Soil strata show traces of three tsunamis

Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture


Issue 2014

Jizōden:
A ring-shaped group of blocks from 35,000 years ago. Hunting and gathering together, a band made their camp

Akita City, Akita Prefecture

Nagatake:
Large-scale buildings and graves appear one after another from within a huge pile of earth

Kazo City, Saitama Prefecture

Arao Minami, Higashi Chōda:
Pottery with incised drawing is recovered from the ditch of a moated-precinct burial

Ōgaki City, Gifu Prefecture

Nomi Tomb Group:
A tomb group continually built across 300 years without interruption

Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture

Nishi Sanjōdai:
The residence of an Early Heian period Minister of the Right

Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture

Geba Shūhen:
Kamakura period armor is found near a Hachiman shrine

Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Shinagawa Battery:
The base portion of the battery has survived in good condition

Minato Ward, Tokyo Prefecture

The Power of Culture for Reconstruction:
Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Buried Cultural Properties Protection

Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima Prefectures

Niida Fortress Remains:
A Medieval mountain fortress is discovered

Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture


Issue 2013

Jizōdaira:
Stone tools for hunting are recovered in great numbers above and below AT

Saga City, Saga Prefecture

Midorikawa Higashi:
Four large-scale stone rods laid in a row are recovered from the center of a stone-paved feature

Kunitachi City, Tokyo Prefecture

Nishi kawatsu:
A core settlement from the Early to the Late periods

Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture

Haniwa from Imperial Mausolea
 

 

Toriimatsu:
Excavation of river remains extends the range of the Iba ancient government office site eastward

Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture

Bizen Ware Kiln Site Group:
Changes from the Heian to Early Modern periods known from excavations

Bizen City, Okayama Prefecture

Reconstruction and Buried Cultural Properties
Protection after the Great East Japan Earthquake

 

Sannō Site:
Features going back to an ancient city

Tagajō City, Miyagi Prefecture

Ōshimizu B and Sawairi B Sites:
Discovery of iron smelting furnaces of the Heian period

Shinchi Town, Fukushima Prefecture


Issue 2012

Archaeological excavation for reconstruction:
- ON THE BUILDING OF NEW COMMUNITIES
- EXCAVATION IN CONJUNCTION WITH RECONSTRUCTION

Akashiba Site, Shinchi Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Nakahigashi:
A campsite found in a buried river basin. The stone blade manufacturing technique of 30,000 years ago comes to light.

Miyoshi Town, Saitama Prefecture

Urushishita:
Stone features in a variety of shapes were placed at burial and ceremonial locations.

Kitaakita City, Akita Prefecture

Kyū Renpeijō:
A settlement large enough to rival Yoshinogari. Investigation proceeds, bringing to light a “country” in Shikoku.

Zentsūji City, Kagawa Prefecture

Motodaka:
The oldest keyhole tomb in the San’in region. A water management facility is discovered on the plain immediately below.

Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture

Ushikubi:
Investigation of the largest Sue ware kiln site group in Kyushu. Precious documentary materials are added for the Wadō era (708-715).

Ōnojō City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Takashima Kōzaki:
After a long and difficult underwater investigation, the finds are collectively designated a Historic Site.

Matsuura City, Nagasaki Prefecture

Sites from the Satsuma Rebellion:
The site of a fierce battle, close-quarter fighting at Tabaruzaka is excavated

Gyokutō Town and Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture


Issue 2011

Miyanoue:
Large-scale tool production at a rich source of stone material

Minamikyūshū City, Kagoshima Prefecture

Aidani Kumahara Site:
One of the oldest clay figurines for Japan, with well developed breasts

Higashiōmi City, Shiga Prefecture

Isshiki Aokai:
One of the largest settlements on the Nōbi plain for the latter part of the Middle Yayoi.

Inazawa City, Aichi Prefecture

Hazaike:
The grave of a leading family in Sue ware production ?

Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture

Yokodaidō:
Large-scale iron smelting features

Minamisōma City, Fukushima Prefecture

Kawanishi:
Large-scale Medieval piled-stone shore edging

Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture

Osaka Castle Wall Stone Quarry Remains:
A great civil engineering project imposed on daimyo

Scattered from the Inland to the Genkai Seas

Sado Kinginzan Site:
Introducing the latest Western technology just after the Meiji Restoration

Sado City, Niigata Prefecture


Issue 2010

Kami Shiroi Nishi Ikuma:
A cluster of stone tools, made with the Setouchi technique, completely refitted as the original stones.

Shibukawa city, Gunma prefecture

Ōmori Katsuyama:
A half century after its discovery, a stone circle is re-investigated.

Hirosaki city, Aomori prefecture

Sugu Site Group:
The structure of a bronze implement production center for the "country of Na," and its change over time, come to light.

Kasuga city, Fukuoka prefecture

Makimuku:
A discovery enlivens debate over the country of Yamatai.

Sakurai city, Nara prefecture

Baba Minami:
A wooden writing tablet inscribed with a Man'yō poem and massive amounts of votive lamp dishes are recovered.

Kizugawa city, Kyoto prefecture

Okite and Nakazu:
Facilities of a Medieval harbor on the Japan Sea are discovered one after another.

Masuda city, Shimane prefecture


Issue 2009

Former Imperial Audience Hall, Nara Capital:
Special Historic Site

Nara City, Nara Prefecture

Ōtsubobata:
The oldest pit traps in Japan? Warm Tanegashima's Paleolithic upsets the prevailing image of this era.

Nakatane Town, Kagoshima Prefecture

Ireibaru:
The only settlement maintained for 4,000 years on a southern isle.

Chatan Town, Okinawa Prefecture

Yanagisawa:
The recovery of multiple bronze halberds buried with a bronze bell.

Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Nakamura No. 1 Tomb:
Rarely found nationwide, a tomb with an unopened horizontal stone chamber.

Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture

Enmeiji:
A contract mokkan of the early seventh century administrative system is recovered.

Jōetsu City, Niigata Prefecture

Former Temple Precinct of Hakusan Heisenji:
A vast Medieval religious urban center built with stone.

Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture

Yamashita Foreign Residence:
Buildings and roads of the late Edo and Meiji periods are excavated.

Yokohama city, Kanagawa Prefecture


Issue 2008

Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine:
World Heritage Site

Iwami Ginzan, Ota city, Shimane prefecture

Takamatsuzuka:
Special Historic Site

Takamatsuzuka Tomb, Asuka village, Nara prefecture

Tarō Mizuno No. 2:
Only completed stone tools are found. A Paleolithic camp site?

Tarō Mizuno 2 site, Kaneyama town, Yamagata prefecture

Kiyotake Kami Inoharu:
Fourteen pit dwellings of the Incipient Jōmon.

Kami Inoharu site, Kiyotake town, Miyazaki prefecture

Sakura no baba:
A kingly grave of Matsuro is rediscovered after sixty-three years.

Sakura no baba site, Karatsu city, Saga prefecture

Hirota:
Historic Site. A relay point on the “shell route.”

Hirota site, Minamitane town, Kagoshima prefecture

Tomori Matsunoto:
Bewitching shells emerge from the white dunes.

Tomori Matsunoto site, Amami city, Kagoshima prefecture

Shiotsukō:
A harbor on the north coast of Lake Biwa.

Shiotsukō site, Nishiazai town, Shiga prefecture

Osaka Castle:
The remains of a Toyotomi family feast?

Osaka-jō, Osaka city, Osaka prefecture


Issue 2007

Kogumi:
A projectile point of quartz crystal, a rarity for the entire nation

Kogumi Site, Kasama City, Ibaraki Prefecture

Higashimyō:
A group of large-scale shell middens from the Earliest Jōmon

Higashimyō Site, Saga City, Saga Prefecture

Yamamoto:
The northernmost moated settlement on the Japan Sea side

Yamamoto Site, Kamihayashi Village, Niigata Prefecture

Ningyōzuka:
A group of bearded haniwa warriors

Ningyōzuka Tomb, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture

Akōbō:
Built continuously over a 300 year period, the largest-scaled group

Akōbō Tomb Group, Oirase Town, Aomori Prefecture

Kannonji/Shikiji:
A mokkan telling the actual state of kanjaku (an inquiry into personal identity)

Kannonji and Shikiji Sites, Tokushima City, Tokushima Prefecture

Shagūji:
Yearning for the Pure Land of Supreme Bliss

Shagūji Site, Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture

Kanpakuzawa, Hayakawa Group:
Building stone used in the walls Edo castle

Hayakawa Stone Quarry Group, Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture


Issue 2006

Palaeolithic Kengamine, Takaharayama Group:
An obsidian source site discovered atop a ridge

Yaita City/Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture

Jomon Taishô No. 3:
The first Incipient Jômon site is discovered in Hokkaido.

Taishô No. 3 Site, Obihiro City, Hokkaido

Yayoi Zasshonokuma:
Stone daggers in complete condition are recovered from graves.

Zasshonokuma Site, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Kofun Mukadezuka, Nyûtabaru Group:
Haniwa resembling those found at Imashirozuka are recovered.

Mukadezuka Tomb, Nyûtabaru Tomb Group, Shintomi Town, Miyazaki Prefecture

Antiquity Nikôji:
A temple built by immigrants?

Nikôji Abandoned Temple, Gose City, Nara Prefecture

Medieval Muramatsu Shirane:
A salt-producing village buried in the sand is discovered.

Muramatsu Shirane Site, Tôkai Village, Ibaraki Prefecture

KofunKôzuke:
Immigrants who brought horses and breeding techniques to Kôzuke

Kenzaki Nagatoro Nishi Site, Shimoshiba Yatsu Tomb, Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture

MedievalHakata Site Group:
Largest trading port in the archipelago, serving as bridge to Asia

Hakata Site Group, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture


Issue 2005

PalaeolithicTamukai Hiyamizu:
A stone tool production site of Upper Paleolithic man

Tamukai Hiyamizu Site, Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture

JomonShōfukuji:
Large quantities of acorns and woven basketry unearthed from a waterside site

Shōfukuji Site, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture

Jomon Terashita:
An inland shell midden is investigated

Terashita Site, Hashikami Town, Aomori Prefecture

Yayoi Yoshinogari:
An Early Han Dynasty bronze mirror is recovered from the seal of a burial jar's lid

Yoshinogari Site, Kanzaki Town/Mitagawa Town/Higashi Seburi Village, Saga Prefecture

Kofun Suyama:
A large-scale keyhole-shaped mounded tomb

Suyama Tomb, Kōryō Town, Nara Prefecture

Kofun Kitora:
Gorgeous murals grace the tomb's interior

Kitora Tomb, Asuka Village, Nara Prefecture

Antiquity Hōryūji Wakakusagaran Ruins:
A small mural fragment closes a hundred-year debate

Hōryūji Wakakusagaran Ruins, Ikaruga Town, Nara Prefecture

Antiquity Magome:
The first reconstruction nationwide of two seven-storied ceramic miniature pagodas

Magome Site, Inzai City, Chiba Prefecture

Antiquity Jingamine:
A fortified residence from the end of the Heian period

Jingamine Castle Site, Aizubange Town, Fukushima Prefecture

Modern Nihonbashi Nichōme, Kyōbashi Nichōme, Nihonbashi Itchōme:
Edo period Kabuki tickets recovered

Nihonbashi Nichōme, Kyōbashi Nichōme, and Nihonbashi Itchōme Sites, Chūō Ward, Tokyo


Issue 2004

PalaeolithicShirataki:
An overwhelming volume of refitted materials revealing the very breath of Paleolithic man

Shirataki Site Group, Shirataki Village, Hokkaido

Jomon Kakura:
A circular settlement dotted with large-scale dwellings

Kakura Shell Midden, Tsukidate Town, Miyagi Prefecture

Yayoi Asahi:
The moat abandoned, the settlement transformed at the start of the 2nd century

Asahi Site, Kiyosu Town, Aichi Prefecture

Kofun Imashirozuka:
Possibly the mausoleum of Emperor Keitai, yielding large quantities of huge haniwa

Imashirozuka Tomb, Takatsuki City, Osaka Prefecture

Antiquity Kōrokan:
A guesthouse for ancient diplomacy is revealed in its entirety

Kōrokan Remains, Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture

medieval Darumaji:
A stone stupa deposited upright, a new facet of Medieval Buddhist relic belief

Darumaji Temple, Ōji Town, Nara Prefecture

Modern Dejima Oranda Shōkan:
Western style pistol and bullets recovered together from the front line of foreign diplomacy in the Edo period

Dejima Oranda Shōkan Remains, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture


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