28 January 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ancient tomb discovered under parking lot greenery in Japan

Shrubbery intended to illuminate a corner of a nondescript parking lot in Japan’s Nara prefecture turned out to be hiding the tomb of an elite figure from ancient times.

Archaeologists uncovered numerous artifacts after removing centuries of soil from the stone burial chamber, including two iron swords, arrowheads, items associated with horse riding, amber jewelry, and clay pots.

According to researchers from Nara University and the Ikaruga Municipal Board of Education, the chamber, which is about 3.8 meters long, 1.6 meters wide, and 1 meter high, dates to the late sixth century.

Archaeologists have been excavating the area located near the World Heritage site encompassing Horyuji temple since spring of 2022, and the ceiling of the tomb found was missing. This prompted the team members to speculate the stones were used to build Horyuji temple, which was completed in the early seventh century.

The ancient stone burial chamber discovered at a parking lot in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. Photo: Kunihiko Imai
The ancient stone burial chamber discovered at a parking lot in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. Photo: Kunihiko Imai

“It is possible the ceiling stones were removed for use in the construction of Horyuji temple and the Ikaruga palace, where Prince Shotoku (an influential political leader of the era) lived with his family,” said Naohiro Toyoshima, a professor of archaeology at Nara University and a member of the research team.

“At that point, the stone chamber could have been buried along with all those items,” Toyoshima told the Asahi Shimbun.

When archaeologists began digging, the circular site didn’t look particularly interesting. It was about 8.5 meters in diameter and 1.5 meters high, and it was covered in shrubs. But educational board experts had long suspected that the bushes concealed an old tomb; they called it the Funazuka kofun burial mound.

Researchers’ hunch was only confirmed after the recent excavation got underway.

A clay roof tile from the Asuka Period (592-710) discovered at the Funazuka burial mound in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. Photo: Kunihiko Imai

A kofun is a burial mound inside which an influential or important person was buried. The tradition of burying people in Kofun started around the 3rd century and lasted about 400 years, and they were only constructed by people holding a high rank. There are various types of burial mounds, including zenpokoenfun (keyhole-shaped mounds) and enfun (round mounds). They were constructed in many different sizes ranging from only 10 meters to as big as 400 meters.

Cover Photo: Shrubbery at a parking lot in Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, hides a sixth century tomb. Photo taken in March 2022 (Provided by the Ikaruga municipal board of education)

Related Articles

One-of-a-kind 1000- years-old gold earring found in Denmark

13 December 2021

13 December 2021

A metal detectorist in Denmark uncovered a one-of-a-kind piece of 11th-century gold jewelry that had never been seen in Scandinavia...

Minoan civilization may have used celestial navigation techniques

3 March 2023

3 March 2023

According to a study done by an American researcher at the University of Wales, ancient civilizations may have used celestial...

New research reveals the true function of Bronze Age daggers

30 April 2022

30 April 2022

A new study led by Newcastle University has revealed that the analysis of Bronze Age daggers has shown that they...

‘Australia’s silk road’: the quarries of Mithaka Country dating back 2100 years

4 April 2022

4 April 2022

In Queensland’s remote Channel Country of red dirt and gibber rock, traditional owners and archaeologists have unearthed what researchers have...

A Mysterious Partially Submerged Structure in Ireland is a Prehistoric Tomb, archaeologist says

25 October 2022

25 October 2022

New research has revealed that a mysterious structure found many years ago on the eastern shore of Cork Harbor in...

A large stone monument depicting the goddess Ishtar has been unearthed in the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud

26 June 2023

26 June 2023

Archaeologists from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, working with an Iraqi excavation team, have unearthed a...

The University of Aberdeen is to Return a Benin Bronze

5 April 2021

5 April 2021

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, Nigeria has been calling for the return of stolen Benin bronzes (including brass reliefs,...

Unprecedented 1800-year-old marble bathtub recovered in Turkey

23 April 2022

23 April 2022

The 1800-year-old marble bathtub, which was seized when it was about to be sold by historical artifact smugglers in Aydın’s...

Archaeologists discover 7,000-year-old tiger shark-tooth knives in Indonesia

29 October 2023

29 October 2023

Excavations on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi have yielded an incredible find: two tiger shark teeth that were fashioned into...

Archaeologists discover secondary gate of old Bazira city in Pakistan

26 March 2022

26 March 2022

Archaeologists claimed to have discovered the secondary gate of the city of Bazira during new excavations at Barikot in Pakistan’s...

Polish archaeologists have uncovered nine crocodile heads within ancient Egyptian tombs of nobles

25 December 2022

25 December 2022

Polish archaeologists excavating the Theban Necropolis in Egypt discovered nine crocodile heads hidden inside two tombs belonging to high-ranking nobles....

Experts say that the Stone of Destiny was a doorstep

2 May 2024

2 May 2024

The Stone of Destiny’s recorded links to Scottish royalty date back almost 1000 years, and its origins are shrouded in...

Iron Age port discovered on Swedish island of Gotska Sandön

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

Archaeologists have discovered an Iron Age port on Gotska Sandön, an island and national park in Sweden’s Gotland district. In...

Ancient Roman coin thought to be fake -certainly authentic and proves the existence of ‘forgotten’ leader Sponsian, study claims

26 November 2022

26 November 2022

History is littered with artifacts that were later discovered to be forgeries, but the opposite can also occur. A new...

One of the greatest gold treasures in Danish history found in Vindelev

6 September 2021

6 September 2021

Near the town of Jelling in Denmark, one of the biggest treasures ever found dating from the sixth century has...