The is an
archaeological site located in the Kurodani neighborhood of the city of
Awaji, Hyōgo in the
Kansai region of
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, with the traces of a late
Yayoi period settlement. The site was designated a
National Historic Site of Japan in 2012.
Overview
The site is located in a hilly area three kilometers from the western coastline of
Awaji Island and occupies an area of approximately 500 meters east-to-west by 100 meters north-to-south. It was discovered in 2001 and
archaeological excavations
In archaeology, excavation is the exposure, processing and recording of archaeological remains. An excavation site or "dig" is the area being studied. These locations range from one to several areas at a time during a project and can be condu ...
have been conducted since 2007. It was found to contain the traces of
pit-house
A pit-house (or ''pit house'', ''pithouse'') is a house built in the ground and used for shelter. Besides providing shelter from the most extreme of weather conditions, these structures may also be used to store food (just like a pantry, a larder ...
dwellings and blacksmith workshops which existed over a one hundred year period around the 1st century AD. Although Yayoi Japan is thought of as a
Bronze Age culture, towards the end of the period iron working became common, and this is the largest
ironware manufacturing community site to have yet been discovered in Japan. It consisted of 23 buildings, of which 12 were confirmed to have the remains of a furnace processing iron. Seventy-five pieces of ironware, including arrowheads, iron pieces, and cut slabs, were excavated. Many stone tools for processing iron, such as mallets, anvil stones, and whetstones, were also found. One of the structures was a factory with ten blacksmith furnaces a single building.
The site is preserved as an
archaeological park with a museum and some reconstructed pit dwellings.
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Hyōgo)
This list is of the Historic Sites of Japan located within the Prefecture of Hyōgo.
National Historic Sites
As of 1 January 2021, fifty-one Sites have been designated as being of national significance (including one * Special Historic Site).
...
References
External links
Awaji city tourist information home page{{in lang, ja
Yayoi period
Archaeological sites in Japan
History of Hyōgo Prefecture
Awaji, Hyōgo
Historic Sites of Japan