Ōyasuba Kofun

大塚山古墳

Ōyasuba Kofun

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Ōyasuba Kofun (Japan)

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Location| Kōriyama, Fukushima, Japan
Region| Tōhoku region
Coordinates| 37°21′23″N 140°24′12″E﻿ / ﻿37.35639°N 140.40333°E﻿ / 37.35639; 140.40333Coordinates: 37°21′23″N 140°24′12″E﻿ / ﻿37.35639°N 140.40333°E﻿ / 37.35639; 140.40333
Type| Kofun
History
Founded| late 4th, early 5th century AD
Periods| Kofun period
Site notes
Excavation dates| 1996-1998
Public access| Yes (archaeological park)

National Historic Site of Japan

The Ōyasuba Kofun cluster (大安場古墳群, Ōyasuba Kofun gun) is a group of five early to middle Kofun period megalithic tumuli located in what is now part of the town of Kōriyama, Fukushima in the southern Tōhoku region of Japan. The largest of the tumuli at the site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2000.[1]

## Contents

* 1 Overview
* 2 See also
* 3 References
* 4 External links

## Overview[edit]

The site is located on the east side of the Abukuma River, which flows through from the south to the north, at an altitude of about 250 meters. Discovered in 1991, the Koriyama City Board of Education conducted an excavation study from 1996 to 1998.

The largest tumulus is a zenpō-kōhō-fun (前方後方墳) with the form of "two conjoined rectangles". It has a length of 83 meters and is orientated in a north-south direction. It was constructed by partly cutting out the natural hill next to the tumulus, with three tiers in the rear and two in the front. A large amount of red-colored pot-shaped Sue ware with a hole in the bottom was excavated from the slopes of the mound, and it was likely that these were originally kept on top of the mound. The interior has a clay-floored burial chamber with a length of 10 meters and width of two meters, containing a 9.2 meter long tree-coffin. The tomb had a large quantity of grave goods, including swords, spears, sickles, fragments of armor as well as jewelry, which date the construction to around the second half of the 4th century

The remaining four empun (円墳)-style circular domed kofun have a diameter of approximately 15 meters each but were not well preserved. They are believed to date from the late 5th century and to be the tombs of the leaders of a nearby settlement.

The site is open to the public as an archaeological park, and is located a ten minute walk from the Kanaya bus stop on the Fukushima Kotsu bus from JR East Koriyama Station.

## See also[edit]

* List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukushima)

## References[edit]

1. ^ "大安場古墳群" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs.

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Oyasuba ancient tomb.

* Oyasuba Park information home page (in Japanese)
* Kōriyama tourist information home page (in Japanese)