The is an archaeological site located in what is now the town of Misato, Tōda District,

Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...

in the Tōhoku region of northern

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 is the ruins of a settlement with associated tombs and shell midden containing remains from the early

Jōmon period The is the time in Japanese history, traditionally dated between 6,000–300 BCE, during which Japan was inhabited by a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united through a common Jōmon culture, which reached a c ...

through the

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 ...

, indicating continuous occupation over several thousand years. It is protected by the central government as a National Historic Site.

Overview

The site is located on an isolated hill with an elevation of 15-20 meters over the surrounding Ōsaki plains. Per excavations conducted in 1965, 1974 and 1975, the remains of an early to middle Jōmon period settlement were found on the southern side of the hill, with the shell midden on the eastern side. The shell midden contained shells from mostly freshwater shellfish, but also had oyster shells, despite its distance from the ocean. The settlement extended for approximately 490 meters east-west by 120 meters north-south. A number of horizontal cave tombs were also found. The top of the hill was terraced, and post holes for a 5 meter diameter

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 ...

was found near the summit. The base of the hill has moat, with a width of 5-6 meters, which indicates that the settlement was later fortified during the

. From within the moat, wooden spurs, bamboo spears and other weapons were found. number of ''

kofun are megalithic tombs or tumuli in Northeast Asia. ''Kofun'' were mainly constructed in the Japanese archipelago between the middle of the 3rd century to the early 7th century CE.岡田裕之「前方後円墳」『日本古代史大辞典』� ...

'' have been found in the vicinity, including the 66-meter long Kyozenizuka keyhole-shaped tomb, but are outside the limits of the designated Historic Site area. The settlement vanished sometime during then Heian period. The site is now maintained as an archaeological park and has been opened to the public. It is about a 20-minute walk from Kogota Station 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 ...

Tohoku Main Line.

References

External links

Miyagi Prefecture official website

{{in lang, ja Misato, Miyagi Jōmon period Kofun period Archaeological sites in Japan History of Miyagi Prefecture Historic Sites of Japan

Overview

See also

References

External links