Moro Heritage Site


The Moro Heritage Site, shown on some maps as Moro Heritage, is an archaeological site where stone tools from the Paleolithic Age were found in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, Japan.

History

In March 1951, a junior high school student called Hiroshi Takizawa passing through the area found obsidian stone tools and clusters of pebbles on a cross-sectional part of a road that cut through a hill called Osedo-yama. A joint excavation was conducted by Meiji University and Musashino Museum in July of the same year. This was the second survey on the Paleolithic Age in Japan after a study of the Iwajuku archaeological site in Gunma Prefecture. It became clear that Paleolithic culture, which is older than that from the Jōmon period, had spread universally in Japan. In addition, the knife-shaped stoneware excavated in this survey had a very distinctive form and was named a Moro Blade. The archaeological site was designated as a historic site of Tokyo in 1969, and as a historic site of Itabashi Ward in 1984. The 22 excavated stone tools were also designated as tangible cultural properties of Tokyo in 1999.

Location

The site is in Jōhoku-Chūō Park in Tokyo, but it is not accessible so as to protect the wooded area in the site. A stone column and information boards show the site’s location.