Excavated Artifacts from the Komazawa Gakuen Campus

Komazawa Gakuen Campus Ruins

Due to the construction of Komazawa Gakuen School, archaeological excavations of six sites distributed within the school grounds were conducted from 1984 to 1987. The sites are located in the hilly area of Sakahama and are complex sites spanning from the Jomon period to the Heian period and the Edo period. The center of the sites is from the Jomon period, where three pit dwellings from the early and middle Jomon periods, 57 stone cooking facilities known as stone collection sites, and six hunting pit holes were discovered. Notably, from a location on the eastern side of the site, a concentration of artifacts from the early and early Jomon period was found, and eight pieces of pottery and stone tools excavated from there have been designated as tangible cultural properties of Inagi City. Among them, the micro-embossed line pottery made about 12,000 years ago has been noted as the oldest Jomon pottery in the Inagi City area.

Materials from the Early Jomon Period

This introduces the pottery and stone tools from the early period. The pottery is known as the micro-relief line pottery, believed to have been made about 12,000 years ago. It consists of three fragments from the rim and body, characterized by straight and wavy fine relief lines. When the entire micro-relief line pottery is restored, it is estimated to have a diameter of about 18.3 centimeters and a height of about 20 centimeters, taking the form of a deep bowl with a round bottom (see figure below). The stone tools are from the same period as the aforementioned micro-relief line pottery, with a total of four items believed to be hunting tools. Two of them are called tongue-tipped points, characteristic hunting tools from the early period. They are pointed stone tools with a tongue-like projection at the base. Additionally, one item is a pointed tool, slender with fine serrated edges on both sides (jagged like a saw). Although it is missing the base, it may be a tongue-tipped point. The last item is a wedge-shaped stone tool. These stone tools are found from the Paleolithic to the Jomon period, but based on their excavation location, they are considered to be from the same period as the micro-relief line pottery. The cross-section is triangular pyramidal.

Materials from the Early and Middle Jomon Period

Three pieces of pottery from the early and middle Jomon periods were excavated from the same site where stones were gathered (a place where stones were collected for cooking, etc.). One piece is a deep bowl-shaped pottery from the early Jomon period, measuring approximately 24 centimeters in height and 17 centimeters in diameter. It features a pattern that looks like rope pressed onto the surface, characteristic of the early period, with a simple design that has few decorations. The remaining pieces are pottery from the middle Jomon period, which were primarily made in Chiba and Ibaraki Prefectures, but are believed to have been brought to Inagi through trade and other means. One piece is a large deep bowl-shaped pottery, measuring approximately 40 centimeters in height and 28 centimeters in diameter. It has four handles on the rim, and a linear pattern is applied by attaching more clay on top of the pottery. The other piece is also a deep bowl-shaped pottery, measuring 27 centimeters in height and 22 centimeters in diameter. It has a raised band-like pattern on the rim, similar to the other piece.