Urajiri Shell Mound

Urajiri Shell Midden

浦尻貝塚
Urajiri Shell Midden Urajiri Shell Mound (Japan)
Location	Minamisoma, Fukushima, Japan
Region	Tōhoku region
Coordinates	37°31′16″N 141°01′23″E
Type	shell midden
History
Periods	Jōmon period
Site notes
Ownership	National Historic Site
Public access	Yes

Urajiri Shell Midden (浦尻貝塚, Urajiri kaizuka) is an early Jōmon period archaeological site in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, in the southern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2006 by the Japanese government.

Site

The location of the shell midden is on an ocean terrace near the southern border of Minamisōma, approximately 700 meters from the present coastline and at an altitude of approximately 20 meters. The surrounding alluvial area was reclaimed in modern times, and formerly consisted of rice paddies and forest, with a lagoon extending inland almost to the site of the midden.

The midden contains fish bones, animal bones and shells dating from the initial Jōmon period through late Jomon period, indicating that the site had been occupied for many centuries, and is located in close proximity to the foundations of numerous pit dwellings and storage holes. The midden extends 20 meters from east to west and 40 meters from north to south, and has a maximum depth of 1.8 meters.

Some of the fish bones in the later layers were from oceanic species (such as sharks, tuna and sea bass) indicating that the local inhabitants had the capability of offshore fishing as well as gathering of marine resources from inner bay areas.

There are no public facilities at the site. Plans to create a public park in the area have been delayed by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and subsequent Fukushima nuclear disaster.

See also

• List of Historic Sites of Japan (Fukushima)

External links

• Minamisoma City official site
• Urajiri Shell Mound Agency for Cultural Affairs (in Japanese)
• Hachinohe City Museum site
• Aomori Prefectural site (in Japanese)