Image
- Category
- Historical Sites Structural Sites
- Title
- Okyozuka Sites
- Areas
- North Area 18
- Location
- Okyozuka 1,2,4,5
- Registered date
- 1977.3.8
Okyozuka Sites are from a circular settlement measuring 200m in diameter that existed between 3,700 and 2,500 years ago.
Excavation in 1956 found sites where stone gyobutsu (Imperial treasures) were buried. Earthenware excavated in this area established the existence of a previously unknown type, Okyozuka-shiki Earthenware, which was made about 3300 years ago.
Large-scale surveys conducted in later days uncovered a space in the center of the settlement where religious ceremonies and gatherings took place. Dwellings surrounded this space, and the outer edge of the settlement was a cemetery area. Dwellings from between 3,700 and 3,300 years ago were of the pit type; however, construction evolved to dwellings with posts dug into the ground between 3,300 and 2,500 years ago.
An approximately 15,000m2 area in the middle of the sites was designated a National Historic Site in 1977. The pit-type dwellings were restored along with a primeval forest of horse and Japanese chestnut trees. In 2010, 4,219 excavated articles were designated Important Cultural Properties. These articles are exhibited at the Nonoichi City Furusato History Museum.