2."Tokoro Site" and "Tokoro Forest Park of Archaeological Sites" Historic Sites
It has long been known that ruins from ancient times could be found in the Tokoro region, and there are even records of excavation surveys being carried out by several researchers at the end of the 19th century. Since 1957, The University of Tokyo Department of Archaeology has conducted continuous and systematic surveys of the various ruins.
In 1974, areas of the ruins in the Tokoro region which were in particularly good condition were designated as a national historic site under the name the "Tokoro Site". The range of the ruins has been added to and expanded since then, and presently ruins at 10 sites covering an area of approximately 128 ha are protected as historic sites.
This "Tokoro Forest Park of Archaeological Sites" was made part of the "Tokoro Site" and the area facing Lake Saroma was made a historic park.
One of the major characteristics of the "Tokoro Site" historic site is the condition in which the ruins are preserved. The ruins feature numerous examples of pit-dwellings from several hundred years ago and earlier which have still not collapsed or been filled in. There are approximately 2,700 of these dwelling ruins consisting of remaining depressions in the land throughout the entire historic site.
As can be seen in the model, ruins are spread over the entire surface of the plateau located behind the Tokoro Archaeological Museum. The depressions shown in the model indicate the locations of pit-dwelling ruins which still remain today.
There are ruins of settlements from approximately 900 years ago during the Satsumon Period in the areas close to the Tokoro Archaeological Museum, with ruins of settlements from the Epi-Jomon Period to the Jomon Period approximately 2,000 to 5,000 years ago in the area further behind this (to the right of the center of the model).