2,000-year-old artifact has clear images of wood structures

IBARAKI, Osaka Prefecture–Shards of 2,000-year-old earthenware unearthed at an archaeological site here depict a group of wooden structures that are the first such clearly decipherable representations to be found in Japan.

The artifact, discovered at the Nakagawara site, offers precious clues about the way settlements were built and rituals carried out during the Yayoi Pottery Culture period (300 B.C.A.D. 300), researchers said.

The discovery was announced March 23 by the Ibaraki municipal education board.

Officials said nine shards of unglazed earthenware were found during a yearlong excavation project that started in November 2016. 

When pieced together, the artifact measured 21.5 centimeters by 25.5 cm. Read more.