Ogushi Shell Mound

A shell mound in Ogushicho (formerly Shiogasaki, Tsunezumi Village, Higashiibaraki County) in the eastern part of Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture. It is a collective term for shell mounds distributed around the shrine, including the upper farmland on the northwestern plateau of Orii Myojin Shrine, which is enshrined in the same place, and on a low plateau one level lower than the former, southwest of the shrine. This shell mound is located near the mouth of the Naka River on the right bank, and dates to the period of Hanazumi lower layer and Sekiyama pottery in the early Jomon period, and contains many shellfish such as Yamato corbicula, Magaki, and clams. In August 1936 (Showa 11), the Oyama Institute of Prehistoric Studies conducted an excavation survey of this shell mound and published a report titled "Ogushi Shell Mound" in the Journal of Prehistoric Studies. This shell mound corresponds to the article on the Ogushi-no-Oka shell mound, which is linked to a giant legend in the Naka District section of the Hitachi no Kuni Fudoki. It is the oldest example of a shell mound from the Jomon period recorded in ancient documents. It is a nationally designated historic site.

[Esaka Teruya]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

茨城県水戸市東部、大串町（旧東茨城郡常澄(つねずみ)村大字塩崎(しおがさき)）にある貝塚。同地に鎮座する下居(おりい)明神の北西台上畑地、神社の南西、前者より一段下がった低台地上など、神社の周辺部に分布する貝塚を総称してよぶ。本貝塚は那珂川右岸の河口近くに位置する貝塚で、縄文時代前期初頭の花積(はなづみ)下層式、関山(せきやま)式土器の時期のもので、ヤマトシジミ、マガキ、ハマグリなどの貝が多く認められる。1936年（昭和11）8月、大山史前学研究所が本貝塚の発掘調査を行い、『史前学雑誌』に「大串貝塚」と題する報告を公刊している。本貝塚はまた『常陸国風土記(ひたちのくにふどき)』の那珂郡の条にみえる巨人伝説と結び付けられた大櫛(おおぐし)の岡(おか)の貝塚の記事に相当する。縄文時代の貝塚が古文献に記された最古の例である。国指定史跡。

［江坂輝彌］

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例