Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles, Hokkaido Travel Guide

The Kiusu Earthwork Burial Circles, located in Chitose, Hokkaido, offer a fascinating glimpse into the late Jomon period (13,000–400 BCE). Constructed around 1200 BCE, these earthworks served as communal cemeteries for the settled communities of prehistoric northern Japan. The site features nine burial circles, with eight still visually recognizable, each measuring over 30 meters in diameter. The largest, Earthwork Burial Circle 1, stretches 83 meters in diameter and reaches a depth of 4.7 meters from the crest of the earthwork to the bottom of the pit.These impressive earthworks were created by digging large circular pits and using the excavated soil to build embankments around the edges. Earthwork Burial Circle 2, one of the largest, features embankments over 4 meters tall and more than 20 meters thick at the base; archaeologists estimate it would have taken 25 people approximately 4 months to construct. The circles are arranged in a manner suggesting significant planning, with some sharing embankments and lower sections that may have served as entrances.Archaeological surveys, beginning in the 1960s, have uncovered burial pits containing artifacts such as broken clay figurines, stone arrangements, traces of red ochre, and polished stone staffs with intricate engravings. A stone pillar, thought to have been a grave marker, was discovered in Earthwork Burial Circle 1. These findings indicate the complex burial practices and sophisticated funeral rites of the Jomon people. Visitors can explore the site via a path that leads around the earthwork circles and along some of their embankments. To learn more about the artifacts and history of the site, visit the nearby Chitose City Buried Cultural Properties Center, which displays items excavated from the burial circles and other archaeological sites.