17 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The ruins found in Nara could be the Imperial House of Female Emperor Koken

Archaeologists unearthed one of the largest building remains ever found at the former site of the Heijokyu palace in the ancient city of Nara, Japan.

The findings were announced on June 30 by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties at the government-designated special historic site.

It’s thought that the edifice served as the centerpiece of a late-eighth-century home for emperors and crown princes. According to one scholar, the structure was a most likely residence for female Emperor Koken (718-770).

According to the institute, archaeologists began investigating a 924-square-meter site in Toin’s northern region in March. Toin is located in the eastern part of the Heijokyu palace, the nerve center of politics during the Nara Period (710-784).

They unearthed ruins of a rectangular-shaped structure, which spans 27 meters in an east-west direction and 12 meters in a north-south direction. Also found were 50 pits dug in the ground to place pillars into them. The holes are lined up about 3 meters apart.

Heijokyu palace in Nara
Ruins of what appears to be a cooking stove found among the remains of a structure unearthed at the former site of the Heijokyu palace in Nara. This photo was taken on June 30. (Takuya Tanabe)

The building, supported by pillars placed in a grid-like formation, likely served as a living space, according to the institute.

Based on the characteristics of a pattern on roof tiles found in pits, researchers calculated that the edifice stood there between 749 and 770 during the Nara Period. During the building’s nearly 20-year lifetime, Koken ruled from 749 to 758 before abdicating in favor of Emperor Junnin. Koken, who was believed to have liked a Buddhist monk named Dokyo, again to the throne as Emperor Shotoku from 764 to 770.

The imperially commissioned history literature on the Nara Period, “Shoku Nihongi,” says that Emperor Shomu (701-756), Koken’s father, lived in Toin when he was crown prince. Later, the area was used to construct an emperor’s home.

“Koken particularly liked Toin, according to Shoku Nihongi,” said Akihiro Watanabe, a professor of Japanese ancient history at Nara University. “I believe the (discovered) structure was her living space.”

The institute said it plans to post a video of the ruins on its official YouTube channel in late July. 

Source: The Asahi Shimbun, Cover Photo: Takuya Tanabe

Related Articles

Archaeologists have unearthed a trove of artifacts at the necropolis of Saqqara

9 June 2022

9 June 2022

Archaeologists at the necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo, have discovered a cache of 250 complete mummies in painted wooden sarcophagi...

Well-Preserved Funerary Enclosures, Mausoleums, and Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Ancient Roman Colony of Liternum, Italy

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in the ancient Roman colony of Liternum, located in present-day Giugliano in Campania, Italy, have unveiled significant...

“Last Rhodes shipwreck” of Roman period found in Turkey’s Fethiye

5 March 2022

5 March 2022

Turkish researchers, a Rhodes shipwreck from the third century A.D. was discovered in the depths of the Gulf of Fethiye...

Neanderthals of the North

13 May 2022

13 May 2022

Were Neanderthals really as well adapted to life in the cold as previously assumed, or did they prefer more temperate...

A princely tomb discovered in the infrastructure project of the A7 Ploieşti-Buzău highway in Romania

20 December 2022

20 December 2022

An impressive archaeological discovery took place on the Ploiești-Buzău section of the Moldova Highway. The excavations uncovered a princely tomb,...

Archaeologists discover ‘exceptional’ ancient Roman sanctuary in near intact condition in Netherlands

23 June 2022

23 June 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed a relatively intact 1st-century Roman sanctuary in the town of Herwen-Hemeling in the province of Gelderland in...

3,000-Year-Old leather Shoe discovered On A Beach In Kent, UK

26 February 2023

26 February 2023

A Bronze Age relic found on a Kent beach is believed to be the oldest shoe ever found in the...

World’s Oldest Customer Complaint “at 3800 Years Old”

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

When we are not satisfied with the product we receive, what almost all of us do is complain about the...

The first settlement of the Cimmerians in Anatolia may be Büklükale

7 June 2022

7 June 2022

Archaeologists estimated that the first settlement in Anatolia of the Cimmerians, who left Southern Ukraine before Christ (about 8th century...

Researchers find the earliest record of aurora in old Chinese documents

15 April 2022

15 April 2022

Researchers have found the oldest known reference to a candidate aurora in a celestial event, described in an ancient Chinese...

Copious Copper Supplies Made Cyprus a Trading Center in the Bronze Age

23 March 2023

23 March 2023

Cyprus was a surprisingly busy trading hub during the early period of international trade in the Mediterranean region. Its awe-inspiring...

Young Metal Detectorist Discovers Huge Viking Treasure Hoard in Denmark

23 April 2023

23 April 2023

A group of hobby metal detectorists has discovered two Viking treasures buried a few meters apart near the ruins of...

The enigma behind King Tut’s’space dagger,’ according to archaeologists, has finally been solved

24 February 2022

24 February 2022

Archaeologists have finally solved the enigma of King Tutankhamun’s dagger, which was discovered 3,400 years ago. A new examination of...

Roman mosaic found under the pavement in the narrow streets of Hvar

13 February 2022

13 February 2022

In the Old Town on the Adriatic island of Hvar, Croatia, a Roman mosaic was unearthed beneath a narrow street....

A Roman Votive Monument Discovered During Excavations at the Roman Open-Air Museum Hechingen-Stein

1 November 2024

1 November 2024

During recent excavations by the State Office for Monument Preservation (LAD) in the Stuttgart Regional Council and the Association for...