Excavation and Survey Work

The Tsuzuraozaki lakebed site is located in the northern end of Lake Biwa in Shiga prefecture. The underwater site is approximately 80m at the deepest which has required the use of robotic submersibles to survey the area. My involvement in the site has focused on the 3D scanning of pottery from the site with a particular interest in iron deposits present on older pottery from the site. The lakebed in the area is rich in iron and relatively thick lacustrine iron deposit are present on a number of pieces. The size and positioning of these deposits can provide an indication as to their orientation on the lakebed, and whether the position and orientation on the lakebed had moved at some point since initial deposition. Using a combination of dates gathered from when pots were made based on ceramic typologies and the thickness of iron deposits on the pot can provide a general dating reference for when pots were disturbed on the lake bottom due to geologic activity or other causes.

Ritsumeikan university has been involved in a number of excavations at the Sugisawa site in Shiga prefecture. This Late/Final Jomon period site is notable due to a number of pottery burials discovered at the site over the years. During the 2023 excavation season another pottery burial, likely the oldest at the site, was uncovered. While there were already plans to create some 3D scans of the excavation area and surrounding areas, the discovery of the new pottery burial provided an opportunity to thoroughly document one portion of the dig. Multiple 3D scans were made of the burial were made as sherds were being removed, allowing us to identify the location and orientation most related sherds recovered during the excavation process. These sherds were then individually scanned and positioned in the same relational 3D space that they were recovered from. The resulting model can provide insights into the initial deposition of the pots and the deformation processes that led to their final positioning.  

The excavation of the Suwahara site in Yamanashi prefecture is a collaborative effort between researchers at Keio, Morioka, and Chuo universities. The excavation is centered on several pithouses at the site and aims to develop new ways to gather and obtain more information during the excavation process related to Jomon pithouses. My involvement in the project has centered around the use of photogrammetry to record additional data beyond what is typically gathered during excavations. Capturing and creating multiple georeferenced 3D scans not only gathers a large amount of data in the form of photographs necessary to create a 3D model using photogrammetry, but the freedom to explore a dig site from multiple viewpoints at several points in the excavation process allows for new interpretations of the site and the reevaluation of the site as new data becomes available.