Orientation of Tsukuriyama Kofun Tumulus: Examination from Lidar Survey

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Ancient Landscapes and Cosmic Cities out of Eurasia: Transdisciplinary Studies with New Lidar Mapping" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Tsukuriyama Kofun in Okayama is a massive burial mound from the fifth century that spans over 350 m and ranks third-largest in Japan. The Okayama University team used lidar to survey the mound and integrated the data into arcAstroVR, a visualization software for archaeological remains and celestial bodies. The mound’s scale and layout resemble the Ishizugaoka Kofun in Osaka, sharing an axis deviation of 29 degrees from the true north. From this, it can be inferred that the two burial mounds built 154 km apart shared the same basic design, including the method of determining the axis of the mound. One suggested reason for this directional choice is the “Token” Big Dipper alignment in the fifth century. Another perspective posits that a 90° rotation of this angle would nearly correspond to the sunrise direction during the winter solstice. Ground-penetrating radar surveys and partial excavations have unveiled a parallel alignment between the axis of the central burial structure within the rear circle and the overall mound axis. Current investigations aim to determine if the mound's placement was influenced by the “Hokushin Faith,” a belief from that era centered on the North Pole of Heaven in China.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Ancient Landscapes and Cosmic Cities out of Eurasia: Transdisciplinary Studies with New Lidar Mapping   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39138.0