6 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Rock Ship of Masuda, Japan’s mysterious monolith

Located in the Takaichi District of Nara Prefecture, Japan, the village of Asuka is famous for its mysterious stones. The ancient origins of the village date back to the Tumulus period, also known as Kofun Jidai (c. 3rd century–538 C.E.).

Kofun Jidai period (AD 250–552) is characterized by a specific type of earth mound in the shape of a key and surrounded by moats. However, the area is known for its many Buddhist temples, shrines, and statues.

Stone monuments that do not match Buddhist-style sculptures or construction on the hills surrounding Asuka attracts curious visitors and explorers.

Masuda-no-iwafune (literally “Rock Ship of Masuda”, 益 田 岩 船 in Japanese), or Rock Ship of Masuda, is the name of the largest of these monuments.  Its function is still unknown and it is located atop a hill close to Okadera Station.  The largest of the mysterious rock mounds, the rock ship is made of solid granite and measures 11 meters (36 feet) by 8 meters (26 feet), 4.5 meters high (15 feet), and weighs approximately 800 tons as it stands.  It’s a carved mound, with two holes each about a meter square in the center, going through to the ground.

Photo: Kazu1000

The “rock ship” moniker is most likely due to its canoe-like appearance or location near Lake Masuda. However, as part of regional development, the nearby body of water has been drained.

The side of the slope facing the top has been smoothed at a 45-degree angle to the ground. Close to the ground, trellis-shaped chisel marks can be seen on the other three sides. These marks are most likely related to how the builders smoothed the surface of the rock. Because granite is notoriously difficult to carve (even with modern tools), this sculpture captivates experts and scientists who regard it as a technical marvel.

Masuda-no-iwafoune’s construction is said to be strikingly similar to that of another Japanese stone enigma, Ishi-no-Hden. Though it is now a shrine dedicated to the Shinto god shiko Jinja, no one knows who carved it or why, though it is thought to have two holes in the center, similar to Masuda-no-iwafune, though they aren’t visible.

Photo: Kazu1000

The most popular theory about the stone’s construction is that it was used as an astronomical observation point. Its orientation alignment with the slope suggests that the monolith may be linked with the Japanese lunar calendar (important for early agriculture) and to the first astronomical observations. However, some experts disagree with this.

Other historians contend that the rock designates a royal burial ground, of which only the entrance would have been finished at the time. This still doesn’t explain the unusual features of the structure.

With no conclusive information regarding the significance of this enigmatic stone spaceship, the whys, and wherefores of its existence remain a mystery to this day.

Cover photo: Wikimedia

Related Articles

Rare a Serbian Stefan Uros II Milutin Silver Grosso discovered in Bulgaria’s Medieval Rusocastro Fortress

8 September 2023

8 September 2023

Archaeologists have discovered a silver grosso minted by the Serbian king Stefan Uros II Milutin in the medieval Rusocastro fortress,...

Baptismal font from the Ottonian period discovered: Oldest evidence of a quatrefoil-shaped basin north of the Alps

19 March 2024

19 March 2024

The site of a font of the medieval Ottonian dynasty, from the tenth century, has been discovered in the crypt...

The discovery of a 380-million-year-old heart sheds new light on our bodies’ evolution

16 September 2022

16 September 2022

Researchers from Curtin University have discovered the world’s oldest heart in a ‘beautifully preserved’ ancient jawed fish fossil 380 million...

Medieval Weapon Chest Found on Sunken Medieval Flagship Gribshunden

20 April 2024

20 April 2024

An extensive exploration of the wreck of the royal flagship Gribshunden has unearthed a trove of new findings: new insights...

Slavic settlement and burial ground with two unusual graves discovered in Saxony-Anhalt

7 August 2024

7 August 2024

Archaeologists from the State Office for Monument Preservation and Archaeology (LDA) of Saxony-Anhalt have uncovered a wealth of medieval treasures,...

Remarkably Preserved Bronze Age Urns, Thousands of Years Old, Unearthed in Germany

13 May 2025

13 May 2025

What appeared to be an ordinary stretch of County Road 17 between the towns of Moisburg and Immenbeck has turned...

Klazomenai, ceramic center of ancient period was found the first seal belonging to the city

20 November 2022

20 November 2022

A seal belonging to the city was found for the first time during excavations in the ancient city of Klazomenai...

In Egypt, archaeologists have discovered a 4,500-year-old Sun temple.

16 November 2021

16 November 2021

Archaeologists discovered an ancient Sun temple in the Egyptian desert that dates back 4,500 years. The remains were discovered under...

2,500-Year-Old Phoenician Shipwreck Being Rescued By Spanish Archaeologists

6 July 2023

6 July 2023

A 2,500-year-old Phoenician shipwreck has been found underwater in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia. An extraordinary Phoenician shipwreck dating...

Paleontologists Unearth 139 Million-Year-Old Pregnant Dinosaur Fossil in Chile

10 May 2022

10 May 2022

Archeologists in Chile have unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13ft-long pregnant ichthyosaur from a melting glacier -marking the first...

Archaeologists discovered the earliest Iron Age house in Athens and Attica

26 May 2023

26 May 2023

A research team from the University of Göttingen discovered the earliest  Iron Age house in Athens and Attica. Archaeologists from...

Ground-penetrating radars reveal hidden passages, described in Leonardo’s drawings

16 January 2025

16 January 2025

As part of a PhD thesis, an innovative technological investigation conducted by the Politecnico di Milano, in collaboration with the...

An ancient structure of unknown purpose discovered in northeastern Italy

25 March 2023

25 March 2023

A mysterious structure of unknown purpose has been unearthed in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region in northeastern Italy. The discovery...

Ancient eggshell in the Northern Cape hiding 300,000 years of history

12 July 2021

12 July 2021

Evidence from an ancient eggshell has revealed important new information about the extreme climate change faced by human early ancestors....

A Special structure Contemporary to Göbeklitepe found at Gre Fılla Höyük in Eastern Turkey

4 August 2022

4 August 2022

Pit-bottomed structures dating to the Pre-Pottery Neolithic period were found at Gre Fılla Höyük (Gre Fılla Mound) in the province...