東広島市長者スクモ塚第１号古墳発掘調査報告（第５次調査）

The Chōja-Sukumozuka mounded tomb group (kofun gun) is located in Saijō-chō (Saijō Basin), Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. It consists of three burial mounds, but one (No. 3) has disappeared. After the initial survey, the Laboratory of Archaeology at the Hiroshima University conducted an excavation of mounded tomb No. 1 in 2020 to determine the composition of ceramic funerary sculptures (haniwa) placed on the mounded tomb, the setup location and the date of the mound construction. The survey revealed cylindrical haniwa (entō haniwa) and pebbles at the burial mound no. 1. In addition, due to the date of the excavated cylindrical haniwa, it may be assumed that the mounded tomb was built in the middle to last third of 4th century AD.
Considering the method of construction of the mounded tombs in the Saijō Basin, we can find that even chiefly mounded tombs, which had box-shaped stone coffins (hakogata sekkan) in 4th century AD, were the “mound last” type of mounded tombs (mound construction is carried out at the end) or the “concurrent progression” type of mounded tombs (construction as a result of repeated burial and backfill operations).
The unearthed haniwa exhibit differences concerning size, clay, and the shape of protruding clay bands, and it is possible that this reflects the aesthetic and/or ideological differences among the manufacturer's groups.
In addition, it is thought that this mounded tomb could easily attract people's attention owing to its location and panoramic views. From this point on one might infer ancient roads.