Nakaiburi Jomon Site

The largest late-Jomon period (14,000 BCE–1000 BCE) archaeological remains in western Japan are found in the town of Katsuragi. The archaeological imprint of a massive pit dwelling, discovered in 2008, has been excavated and preserved. From the remnants of the pit and size of the pillars’ holes, researchers estimate that the wooden pillar and thatch structure may have been 12 meters tall with an area of some 180 square meters, a very large building for the time. Items of pottery showing influences from distant regions of Japan indicate that this may have been an important crossroads during the late Jomon period. Due to this fact, archaeologists theorize that the structure may have been a meeting place rather than a family dwelling.