Goryo Shell Mound

Japanese: 御領貝塚 - ごりょうかいづか

<br /> A shell mound site in Jonan-machi, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is located about 6km northeast of JR Uto Station, at the northeast foot of Mt. Gankaizan , at the southern end of the Kumamoto Plain. This shell mound dates back to the end of the Late Jomon period, and is located near the tip of a long, narrow plateau about 200m wide, bordering an alluvial plain. In the shell layer, which is mainly composed of freshwater shells of Yamato Corbicula, pottery fragments of Goryo style have been excavated, and below the shell layer, Nishihira style and stamped patterns have been excavated. Buried human bones with missing teeth and deformed heads, as well as earthenware coffins, were also discovered. It is one of the largest shell mounds in the Kyushu region, and is academically important as a standard site for the chronology of the Jomon culture, so in 1970 (Showa 45 ), it was the first shell mound in the Kyushu region to be designated as a national historic site. To the northwest, across a depression, is the Ataka Shell Mound. Materials are on display at the Kumamoto City Tsukahara History and Folklore Museum. From the Kumamoto Transportation Center at Kumamoto Station on the JR Kagoshima Main Line or other lines, take the Kumamoto Bus to the "Goryo" stop, then walk for about 5 minutes.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

熊本県熊本市城南町にある貝塚遺跡。JR宇土(うと)駅の北東約6km、熊本平野南端の雁回山(がんかいざん)の東北麓にある。縄文時代後期末の貝塚で、沖積地を控えた約200m幅の細長い台地の先端付近に所在し、主としてヤマトシジミからなる淡水産の貝殻などで構成される貝層中からは、御領式、貝層下から西平(にしひら)式、押型文などの土器片が出土。抜歯や頭部変形のある埋葬人骨、甕棺(かめかん)なども発見された。九州地方における最大級の貝塚であるとともに、縄文文化編年の標準遺跡として学術上重要なことから、1970年（昭和45）に九州地方の貝塚としては初めて国の史跡に指定。北西方には窪地を隔てて阿高貝塚がある。熊本市塚原歴史民俗資料館に資料を展示。JR鹿児島本線ほか熊本駅の熊本交通センターから熊本バス「御領」下車、徒歩約5分。

出典　講談社国指定史跡ガイドについて　情報

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