Torihama Shell Mound

Japanese: 鳥浜貝塚 - とりはまかいづか

<br /> The shell mound is located in Torihama, Wakasa-cho , Mikata- Kaminaka -gun, Fukui Prefecture. It is located in a low marshland near the confluence of the Hasugawa River and Takase River, which flow into Lake Mikata. The shell mound is located 3m to 7m underground (0m above sea level) (minus 4m above sea level). At the time, the lake was close to the area around the shell mound, and the hill on the north side jutted out into the lake like a cape. It is believed that people who lived on the southern slope of the tip of the hill dumped their garbage into the lake. Excavations conducted since 1962 ( Showa 37) have unearthed pottery and stone tools, as well as lacquer products such as red lacquered combs, stone axe handles, wooden products shaped like rice scoops, knitting, ropes, plant remains such as gourds and perilla that may have been cultivated, and a dugout canoe approximately 6m long, confirming that the shell mound dates from the early to early Jomon period. The remains, which would have been corroded and difficult to preserve, were well preserved in water, which is why they are called the "Jomon Time Capsule," and the 1,376 remains unearthed at Torihama Shell Mound were designated an Important Cultural Property. Later, lacquerware products were discovered at the Sannai Maruyama Site ( Aomori Prefecture) and other sites, but when a red lacquerware comb was unearthed in 1972 (Showa 47), academics were surprised to learn that such technology had existed in the Jomon period. It is about a 10-minute walk from Mikata Station on the JR Obama Line.

Source: Kodansha National Historic Site Guide Information

Japanese:

福井県三方上中(みかたかみなか)郡若狭(わかさ)町鳥浜にある貝塚。三方湖に注ぐ鰣川(はすがわ)と高瀬川の合流点付近の低湿地帯に所在する。貝塚は地下3m（海抜0m）から7m（同マイナス4m）のところにあり、当時は貝塚の周辺にまで湖が迫り、北側の丘陵が岬のように湖に突き出し、その丘陵先端の南側斜面に居住する人々がゴミを湖中に捨てたものと推定されている。1962年（昭和37）以来の発掘調査により、土器や石器のほか、赤漆塗りの櫛をはじめとする漆製品、石斧(せきふ)の柄、しゃもじ状の木製品、編み物、縄、栽培されていた可能性のあるヒョウタン・エゴマなどの植物遺体、長さ約6mの丸木舟などが出土し、縄文時代草創期から前期にかけての貝塚と確認された。腐食して残りにくい遺物が、水漬けの状態で良好に保存されていたところから、「縄文のタイムカプセル」とも呼ばれており、遺物1376点は鳥浜貝塚出土品として重要文化財に指定された。その後、三内丸山(さんないまるやま)遺跡（青森県）などで漆塗り製品が発見されることになるが、1972年（昭和47）に赤漆塗り櫛が出土したときは、縄文時代にこれほどの技術が存在していたことが学会に驚きを与えた。JR小浜線三方駅から徒歩約10分。

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