SAKURAI, JAPAN—The discovery of another building at the Makimuku archaeological site, which is located near the ancient capital of Nara, suggests that the third-century complex was home to Queen Himiko and perhaps her successor, Toyo, who are mentioned in early Chinese documents. “The latest finding virtually confirms that the buildings stood in a regular geometry along the central axis of a quadrangular area stretching 150 meters from east to west. That is an extraordinary dimension for third-century artifacts,” Hironobu Ishino of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology, explained to The Asahi Shimbun.
Third-Century Palace Unearthed in Japan
News February 7, 2014
Recommended Articles
Off the Grid November/December 2026
San Agustín, Colombia
Letter from Cape Canaveral November/December 2026
Dawn of the Space Age
Archaeologists have made surprising discoveries spanning 3,000 years at the birthplace of American space exploration
Features November/December 2026
Kingdom of Fortresses
How diverse and far-flung Iron Age chiefdoms united to challenge the Assyrian Empire
Features November/December 2026
A Tomb of One’s Own
Life behind the scenes in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings
-
Features January/February 2014
Stone Towns of the Swahili Coast
Along 2,000 miles of the East African coast, the sophisticated trading centers of the medieval Swahili reveal their origins and influences
(Samir S. Patel) -
Letter from England January/February 2014
The Scientist's Garden
Excavations in an English garden reveal the evolution of the nation's culture across thousands of years
(Adam Stanford, Aerial-Cam) -
Artifacts January/February 2014
Limestone Eagle
(Matthew Helmer) -
Digs & Discoveries January/February 2014
French Revolution Forgeries?
(Courtesy Davide Pettener/Paolo Garagnani)