is an
archaeological site
An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology an ...
containing the ruins of a
Kofun period
The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...
settlement (dating from around the mid 500 AD) located in what is now the
Komochi neighborhood of the city of
Shibukawa
is a city in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 76,098 in 32,439 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Shibukawa is the location of Ikaho Onsen, a popular hot spring resort.
...
,
Gunma Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...
in the northern
Kantō region
The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa. Slight ...
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 ...
. The site was designated a
National Historic Site of Japan in 1993.
Overview
The site is located on a
river terrace on the north bank of the
Agatsuma River, in the central part of Gunma. It was buried almost instantly by a large amount of
pumice
Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular vol ...
and
volcanic ash
Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...
from an eruption of
Mount Haruna, which is located ten kilometers to the southwest. The eruption covered the entire area from 50-cm to two meters in thickness. The ruins were discovered in 1982.
Ground-penetrating radar surveys followed by
trench excavation found the remains of 110
pit dwelling
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 ...
s and
tumuli under the pumice layer. From 1985, as a result of excavation survey of about 40,000 m2, the extent of the late Kofun period settlement, consisting of pit dwellings, flat dwellings, raised-floor structures, garden traces, roads, fence rows, ritual sites, etc. was revealed to be in a very good condition. The site shed considerable light on society during this period of Japan's prehistory. It appears that each residence was a compound containing the pit-dwelling residence, ground-level workshops and livestock sheds and raised-floor granaries, surrounded by a fence. Each compound thus consisted of seven to ten buildings, and it appear that several families lived in each compound. The settlement consisted of eight to ten of such compounds. Daily life combined
paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded field (agriculture), field of arable land used for growing Aquatic plant, semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in sout ...
agriculture with grazing of cattle and horses.
The site is located 30 minutes by car from
Shibukawa Station
is a junction railway station in the city of Shibukawa, Gunma, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).
Lines
Shibukawa Station is a station on the Jōetsu Line and is 21.1 kilometers from the starting point of the line at ...
on the
JR East
The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...
Jōetsu Line. The ruins were backfilled after excavation and are now an empty field.
See also
*
List of Historic Sites of Japan (Gunma)
References
External links
Gunma tourism home page official site{in lang, ja
Kofun period
History of Gunma Prefecture
Shibukawa, Gunma
Archaeological sites in Japan
Historic Sites of Japan