Nakabaru on Ikei Island
Thursday - March 16, 2017

Nakabaru is the remains of a village that existed over 2,000 years ago on this tiny remote island. A nice thing about this attraction is that there are ample English-language descriptions of the remnants of this ancient village.

The Nakabaru Village Ruins* are an interesting archaeological site on beautiful Ikei Jima, the island that makes the most eastern tip of Uruma. Designated a national historic site in 1986, Nakabaru Village is a small collection of traditional huts from the Jomon Period, and excavations revealed earthenware pots and a variety of tools, such as axes made of stone and needles made of bone.

Today some of the huts have been rebuilt to reflect what the traditional dwellings would have looked like. But it’s a tight squeeze – if you are small in stature (or a kid) you can manage to take a look inside. A number of the huts have been left open, meaning without a roof, to show how they are constructed.

The base of the huts were built with stone and built embedded in the earth to protect them from typhoons. The roofs were reinforced with bamboo and wood, and covered with straw. In the lower parts of the hut, families cooked and slept. The dwellers of the island would have been hunters and fishermen. Archaeologists also discovered a burial ground nearby.
* - glommed from TotalOkinawa.com

The first thing that we saw was a huge stone-axe to greet us!

Thanks to Okinawa Iyasi (Facebook friend) for providing the translation for these next two photos! Domo arigato gozaimasu tomodachi!

""Ichinosato" Nakabara ruins. National Designated Historic Site"

"Yonagushuku Board of Education
Agency for Cultural Affairs"

Dr. Bung and Kelly shopped around and decided upon which place was to be their new home.

Stars and Stripes article about Nakabaru - (essentially a reprint of an Okinawa Hai article)


Questions, comments, critiques? All are welcome. Type here then click "Send it!"

Thanks, Mick


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