Ancient armor-clad skeleton discovered in Gunma Pref

SHIBUKAWA, Gunma -- The skeleton of a man in armor dating from the early sixth century has been discovered in a layer of volcanic ash here, the Gunma Archaeological Research Foundation announced on Dec. 10.
The armor-clad remains were found at the Kanai Higashiura ruins here during archaeological excavations accompanying road construction. According to the foundation, the armor is the first set from the Kofun (burial mound) period ever discovered on the body of its owner. The only other pieces of armor from the period have been found among grave goods in tombs. The man is thought to have been caught in the eruption of Mt. Haruna's Futatsudake, a nearby volcano.
"The find is a valuable clue for learning about the life, habits and disasters of the time," said a foundation representative.

The Kanai Higashiura ruins are around nine kilometers northeast of Futatsudake. The skeleton, intact save the back of the skull and the pelvis, was found in a ditch around two meters wide and one meter deep. As the skeleton was found facing the volcanoes with its legs bent and facing downward, the research foundation speculates that the man may have been conducting a ritual to "calm the anger" of the volcanoes.
The armor is made of small overlapping metal plates, a type called kozane yoroi thought to have been produced only in the Kansai region far to the southeast of modern Shibukawa. Furthermore, kozane yoroi has never been discovered in Gunma outside the tombs of the ruling classes, leading foundation archaeologists to speculate the man was a local leader or other high-status individual with close connections to the Yamato kingdom.
Three iron swords have been found in the Kanai Maruyama tomb in the western section of the ruins, and the foundation says they could be related to the man found on Dec. 10. Also, the skull of an infant and around a dozen iron arrowheads have been uncovered nearby.
"This find is like a piece of the Kofun period being cut out and displayed for modern times," says archaeologist Kazuo Migishima of Gunma University. "In the Gunma area, kozane yoroi armor has only been found in the tombs of the ruling classes or those of similar rank, so the man was probably of the ruling classes. Kozane yoroi was state-of-the-art at the time and required high expertise to make. The find inspires speculation that there was a connection between the Yamato Oken (western rulers) and Togoku (eastern states)."

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