Jomon Site Inside the Futenma Air Station ~Uehara Nuribaru~

Hello everyone😊.

Summer is officially here and I cannot help but feel nervous thinking about the heat during this year’s excavation surveys! This time, I would like to introduce the “Uehara Nuribaru Site”, a site that was registered as an important archaeological site in 2005, located within Futenma Air Station.

The Uehara Nuribaru Site is a multi-period archaeological site containing remains from the Jomon Period through the modern periods, allowing us to trace how people used this land over the years.

We have discovered features related to possible production activities at the site, including remains that may indicate cultivation during the Jomon Period.

This site is located on relatively flat land surrounded by grassland and abandoned farmland. True to the local name “Nuribaru”, the area land lies lower than its surrounding, making it poorly drained and prone to flooding after heavy rain. At the same time, it has long been known locally as an area with especially fertile soil.

This site was first discovered during preliminary test excavations conducted ahead of the construction of a new military fuel pipeline planned by the Okinawa Defense Bureau. The City then carried out an emergency excavation survey of about 600 meter square, beginning in July 1992🫡。

On the lower soil surface of Layer 2, we uncovered agricultural fields and furrow features dating from the early modern to modern periods, all of which were identified through excavated artifacts.

Even more intriguing, on the lower surface of Layer 5, dating to the Late Jomon Period, similar furrow-like features were discovered.

A furrow is the shallow space between raised planting ridges used for cultivating crops. (the white-colored part of the picture!)

The furrow features dating from the early to modern to modern periods consisted of about seven parallel furrows spaced about 30~40cm apart. Each furrow measured roughly 10~15cm wide and 10cm deep.

Beneath these, we have discovered nine additional furrow-like features! Some contained large amounts of carbonized grains, and because of their distinctive characteristics, they are thought to represent very early agricultural features.

Several pit features were also excavated nearby, along with stone tools and pottery.

At the time of the excavation, these pits were considered as one of the largest known examples in Okinawa. Since then, similar features have been discovered at sites within Ginowan City, including the former U.S. Naval Hospital area in Camp Zukeran and the former West Futenma Housing Area. The pits that were found in Camp Zukeran in particular, are believed to have functioned as pitfall traps😯.

A second excavation was carried out in 2008 to re-examine the findings of the previous excavation and to better understand the site’s extent and character.

During the excavation, we identified a bank-like raised feature around 2 meters wide. Although it is unusually large for a furrow, its distinctive form made it to an important feature worthy of further investigation.

However, just as the detailed survey was about to begin, repeated heavy rainfall flooded the trenches and caused parts of the excavation area to collapse. (we tried to pump out the water several times too)

Because the excavation area continued to flood repeatedly, it became impossible to complete the investigation within the schedule period😔.

To preserve the archaeological remains for future research, the excavated features were carefully protected with sandbags before the site was backfilled.

Although the Uehara Nuribaru Site itself is located inside Futenma Air Station, there is actually a signboard dedicated to the site that is installed just outside the base along the fence line.

The signboard is located near Futenma Second Elementary School, in the parking lot across from Union Aragusuku Store. It is in a hidden spot, but it is worth looking for!

The Uehara Nuribaru Site has yielded many discoveries, and with future investigations, we hope to deepen our undertanding of the site. 

We will continue introducing more unique cultural sites located within Futenma Air Station, so stay tuned for future posts!