By KUNIHIKO IMAI/ Staff Writer
February 7, 2024 at 15:55 JST
A wooden coffin, which was excavated from the Tomio Maruyama burial mound in Nara, is shown to the media on Feb. 6. (Nobuhiro Shirai)
NARA--A wooden coffin discovered in a late fourth-century burial mound here that contained a shield-shaped bronze mirror and massive sword was shown to the media on Feb. 6 ahead of its opening.
The cylindrical coffin is in an exceptionally well-preserved state, according to the city’s board of education.
In fiscal 2022, the excavation of a protruding section on the northeastern side of the Tomio Maruyama Tumulus in Nara--one of Japan’s largest round burial mounds at 109 meters in diameter--unearthed the coffin.
The casket was found underneath a 64-centimeter-long shield-shaped bronze mirror adorned with designs of imaginative creatures, known as “daryu,” and the 237-centimeter-long serpentine sword, the largest iron sword found in East Asia.
But the coffin was not examined at that time and investigations have resumed since December 2023.
The casket, called a “split bamboo style coffin,” was made by hollowing out a Japanese umbrella pine log, measuring more than 5.3 meters in length and 64 to 70 centimeters in diameter.
It was placed at the bottom of a rectangular pit about 7.4 meters long and 3 meters wide, which was dug into the protruding part of the burial mound, with the two ends facing northwest and southeast.
Blocks of clay were stacked around the coffin, which was then further encased in clay. The construction process was also revealed.
Around one-third of the lid remains, along with one of the rope-holding protrusions, which is believed to have been used during transport.
There were also end caps that were fitted inside the coffin and used to seal the ends.
Wooden coffins usually decay and disappear in the soil over more than a thousand years, so it is extremely rare for such a large portion to remain after around 1,600 years.
The board of education will also investigate the insides of the casket.
Although soil has flowed into the coffin, readings from a metal detector suggest that iron-made grave items such as weapons or agricultural tools might be buried within.
The results will be announced around mid-March.
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