ENGLISH SUMMARYI FOREWORD
This M/ork is the report of archaeological excavations conducted by the Nara National

Cultural Properties Research lnstitute at the request of the Nara Prefectural Board ofEducation,prior to the construction of a large― scale retail outlet in Shichijo― ch5,Nara City.
ヽlrithin the total area scheduled for development,extending over 31,500m2。 f Block 13 of East
ヽard on Seventh Street,First Ward on Sixth Street and Blocks 15 and 16 of East First ヽ「eenexcavations hv‐ ere conducted five tirnes bet鞘 〆笙
ay 1994 and April 1995,focusing mainly onBIock 16,、vhich contains the rnajor portion of area to bё deve10ped and includes the planned siteof the retail store itself. The total area excavated was approxilnately 14,200m2

H ARCHAEOLOGICAL FEATURES
A Features related to the city street gridRemains of the city street grid on all four sides of BIock 16 of East First Ward on Seventh
Street ttrere confirmed in this series of excavations.

ЛヽVithin this 17、「ard, the drainage ditch

forHling the Mrestern side of East First Avenue,and the nOrthern block― boundary street alongwith the ditches on both sides,were investigated over the length of an entire block;extending
the area of excavation,the eastern ditch of East First Avenue, Sixth Street and the easternithin East First Ward on Seventh Street,together、 vith ditches on both〆
block‐ boundary avenue、 パ′
ere confirmed. The interval bet、 veen the centers of the ditchessides of the latter t、 vo roads,、パ
enue was 22.5 rn,、 vhich fails to yield a round number耶「hen calculated
bordering East First A■‐as either訪2λ 励 傷 (long‐ scaled s力 α々%,approxilnately 33.5 cal)or s力 σs力 α乃2 (short― scaled s力 α力2,approxilnately 29.6 cHl), this is thought to result fronl repairs to the、vestern ditch,which led

to a shift in its position to the east. The M〆 estern ditch ranged fron1 7.5to 8.6 m in Mπ idth andfrom l.5 to l.7n■ in depth,sil

lar in scale to findings for its upper reaches and suitable for a

maiOr drainage facility of the Nara capital.「rhe sediments in the ditch are divisible into sevenstrata,tracilag changes over three broad temporal periods.

望生t the end of the Nara period theditch under、 vent large‐ scale repair,and eventuaHy,by means of a dam discovered in the centerof the area of excavation,provided、 vater for an irrigation channel flo、 ving to the east, Abridge over the、 vestern ditch、 vas also discovered.

ヽ￨「 hen considered as an entranceway for

BIock 16,at times、 vhen a barrier was erected around the perimeter of the block the bridge
would serve as an opening ontO a major road,and would thus bear sOme relation to the natureof the Block and its inhabitants.

ヽVhile it、 vas not possible to deterHline、 vith certainty the ageof the bridge in these investigations,it is conceivable that it ttras a temporary structure,built

to acconllnodate the inflo、 v of materials to a base耶「hich Mras used for the construction of theNara capital during Phase l of the site
Further,this ttras the first time both ditches bordering Sixth Street、vere uncovered simulta―

neously, and along覇 /ith the discovery that the road lies south of its anticipated position, itbecame clear that the road's width was 14.3m(40カ々%)as measured from the centers ofぬ残ιthe ditches, narrower than other maior roads of the capital.

It must be left to subsequent

research to deter■ line、vhether this is true only for the excavated region,but if West Sixth

Street Mras built to the same proportions,then a provisional solution may be seen concerning
the positions of the southern gate of Yakushiji and the northern ditch of Sixth Street,as yet
undetected in that area,which have been suggested as possibly overlapping Further,as a resultof the verification of the roads surrounding BIock 16 on aH four sides,it has become clear thatthe Block is relatively large in size,being slightly more than 450 s力 σs力α力π in bOth the north‐vest directions, and that the city street grid of the Nara capital accordingly
south and east‐ 、
contained irregularities in block diFnenSions

B Temporal changes in the archacological features
The remains of 58 buildings,49 fences,15 ditches,and ll wells、 vere detected in BIocks 15 and16 together with pits and other features. Only a smaH portion Of the northern part of Block 15、
vas investigated,ho覇 〆ever,yielding but four buildings and t、 vo fences,so that it、 vas not feasible

to evaluate the temporal sequence of these features

By contrast, whereas fe、

ハ/ artifacts

indicating the age of features were unearthed in Block 16, a sequence of six phases frOni theNara to the l■ eian periods、 vas established,based lnainly on relationships of Overlap and on therelative positions of the features. Over the entire span,Inoreover,the site、 vas not subdivided
but used on the scale of a single city block.

In Phase I,at the beginning of the construction of the lWara capital,features concentrated inthe、vestern half of the block, 、vith the eastern half remaining vacant. No regularity in thelayout of the buildings could be detected,nor did any particular structure appear to be central,and iudging frorn the geographical position of the block,it seems possible that it was used asa temporary facility related to the construction of the capital,rather than as an ordinary sitefor housing.

By contrast,in Phases II and III,planned use as a building site is evident,thought to havebeen for hOusing government officials.

Buildings were arranged in orderly fashion in thesoutheastern portion of the block in the pattern of a rnain and secondary halls,the western halfof the block,marked off by a nOrth― south fence,may thus have served as an area for foodpreparation.
In Phase Iヽ た, M〆 hich extended frOm the end of the Nara into the Heian periOd, buildings
concentrated in the western half of the block lt is difficult to regard these as ordinary houses,

however,judging frOni the arrangement of the buildings and the existence of、

varehouses andother structures,and considering the recovery froni the western ditch of East First Avenue ofslag,and of fragments of clay bellows nozzles and shaft furnaces,it is thought that some kindof lnanufacturing activity was conducted in the block.

Even during the Heian period, in Phase V, although the site、vas less intensely utilized, it
nonetheless served as the locus of housing,thus verifying the continuing occupation of the siteeven subsequent to the abandonment of the Nara capital. Also,a wooden coffin burial wasconducted in one corner of the site

ln Phaseヽ

たI,however,only sma11‐ scale buildings existedin scattered fashion,and it appears that the bulk of the site、

vas turned into cultivated land. It覇〆as at this tirne that the western ditch of East First Avenue served as an irrigation ditch.
Froni a pit discovered at the base of the southern ditch of the northern block―boundary streetof East First Ward on Seventh Street,crania and long bones of horses were recovered,together
with pottery bearing human faces drawllin ink and other objects, Datable froln the pottery tothe start Of the Nara period,this pit,associated with animal‐ related ritual,was dug at a stage■vhen water、 vas not flo、 ving through the ditch. Also,frona the result of fatty acid analysis,thefive pottery interments discovered at road surfaces and else、

vhere were all determined to haveheld human remains, and judging froHl their sizes, are beheved to have been the graves ofchildren。 「rhe above discoveries will hkely draw attention as the first examples kno、 Ⅷa for theNara palace site. In addition,pit d、 venings frorn the Kofun period were detected at the surfaceof East First Avenue.

III ARTIFACTS
Artifacts yielded rnainly by the、 vestern ditch of East First Avenue included pottery and otherbaked clay obiectS,rOOf tiles and bricks,wooden implements,rnetal goods,stone objects,and

力σcopper coins,lacquer ware,and pottery、 vere夕%θ 角虎αη(inscribed wooden tablets), J6was力 σalso recovered froni the、 vooden coffin burial. Arnong these items,ritual― related articles suchas metal human efigles,wooden obieCtS Servlng as effigles for ttθ 力 and other obiectS,pottery
bearing human faces dra、 vn in ink,and ceraHlic rniniature table and cOoking ware,will receive
attention as materials bearing on rituals in the Nara capital. The力θttο

effigies suggest theexistence of a prototype heretofore not kno4/n among ttO及 9,and spear effigies、 vith wavy lines
dra、 vn in ink are also likely to receive notice for heir rarity.

A large number of rnetal human effigies have been recovered froni the southern half of theNara capital,Ⅵ /ith the bulk of these being made of irono Some of these have、 vavy bodies

formed with gently meandering curves, others are upright figuresout、 vard,still others are perforated獨、vith the legs spreading〃ith four round holes fron■ the face down to the abdomen.

With regard to the latter type,it can be seen that hey、

vere made by first drawing the eyes,

nose,and mouth、 vith a burin,then executing the holes,and finany cutting the legs apart、 vitha burin and spreading theni to the right and left.

The recovery of a stone belt fitting,together with the existence of a、
indicates that even in the Heian period human activity、

vooden coffin burial,

vas conducted at this locus,a finding

not inconsisterrt、 vith the temporal change in archaeological features.

Froni the perspective of scientific analysis,it has become clear frOnl exaHlinations of fatty
acid residues that pottery interments,made in the rOad、 vay and else、 vhere,、 vere iar burials ofhumans,and also that offerings placed in the lacQuer M〆 are and pottery included in the、 700den
coffin burial possibly contained anirnal products. Further,ponen analysis and diatom analysisof the fill frorn the western ditch of East First Avenue have clarified the rnanner of sedirnenta―tion of the ditch.

IV ISSUES FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
It is now evident, with regard to the archaeological features of Block 16, that temporalchange occurred in six phases, it is thought that the move of the capital to Kuni took place
bet、 veen the second and third phases. Whereas this move been regarded as an epoch‐ Fnaking

event、 〃ith regard to changes in archaeological features,as investigations of the Nara capital

have proceeded in recent years and clues for concrete knowledge of the trends at Nara at thetirne of the move gradually increase,examples have been recognized for the periOd encOmpass‐ing the move to Kuniin、 vhich the basic arrangement of buildings did not greatly change,with
one portion of the structures remaining、

vhile others were rebuilt. In the current investigations

as Mrell,the basic continuity in the shape of utilization of the site should be nOted. In addition,on the basis of previous smaner̲scaled excavations,the existence of roofed earthen瓢「ans hasbeen deduced froFn the detection of ground■ evel gutters to catch the runoff froIIn the roof; inthe current investigations a broader‐ scaled area was investigated,and frO■ l a consideration of

the features together、 vith the recovered artifacts,it is no、 v conceivable that the constructionof the outer enclosure of the block took a certain span of tttne to complete. In other words,itcan be seen in this case that construction of the eastern side took place after the northern,and、
vas fomo、 ved by that of the southern side,and it has accordingly become clear that housing sites、vere not alM/ays accompanied by facilities for■ling an outer enclosure. Further,the discoveryof a housing site,frona the first half of the Nara period,on the scale of an entire block,in thesouthern half of the capital、 vhere small‐ scaled house sites、 vere regarded as common,sho、 vsthat traditional views in this regard are not definitive, and that reexanlination based on
advances made in subsequent investigations、vill be necessary.

With regard to artifacts recovered from roadside ditches, these involve the problenュ ofuncertainty about the place Mπ here they、 vere discarded. The、 vestern ditch of East First Avenue
vas a nl蒟 or drainage route of the capital,flol1/ing south frorn the Nara palace,and as the ditch、

assumes a gentle inclnation at this poi:it for topographical reasons,it is hard to rule out thepossibility that these artifacts flowed do、vn frOna the upper reaches of the ditch. But unlike the263

wooden spear and 力ο effigies, judging from the conditions in which タタヶο滝発aη , pottery, an‐ttο

danilnal remains are found,and frorn the states of preservation of these items themselves,it isthought that they were discarded at places not far removed from the point of discovery. Fromhis perspective,he 物誘 協 η from the western ditch of East First Avenue suggest,by heircontents,hat a facility silnilar in nature to a dorHlitory for lower government Officials existed
in the nearby area,including the excavation site itself. If such a facility was indeed located in
Block 16,frona the position of the strata yielding the夕%θ 々協 η,itwould correspond with Phases

II and III of the sequence of archaeological features,thought to represent a housing site forgovernment officials.(Dn the other hand,the iar uSed in the pottery interment appears stronglyrelated to the central Ka、 vachi region,Or the area extending from eastern Setsu to southern

Yamashiro,and is thought to belong to the Hcii6kyu 2 style, some kind of relationship may
therefore be assumed between hese regions and the residents of Phase II.

ヽ1監 ether the twointerpretations iust giVen are conapatible cannot be clearly resolved at present,and the form invhich the facility rnentioned above will reveal itself in terms of archacological features is also、

uncertain. It is hoped that hese issues、 vill become clear thrOugh subsequent developments inthe archaeological investigation of the Nara capital。