Japan Times

Archaeologists showed to the media Thursday a stone chamber that was excavated at an ancient tomb near Nara and is believed to date back to the late third to early fourth centuries.

The Nara Prefectural Kashihara Archaeological Institute restarted research on the chamber earlier this year to look into its structure.

The tomb is believed to be that of a nobleman in the early years of the Yamato dynasty, which ruled major parts of Japan from the third to seventh centuries.

The walls of the stone chamber, the core part of the tomb, are made of more than 1,000 processed stone plates, each measuring 30 to 40 cm wide. Precious cinnabar pigment has been used abundantly to color the stone chamber.

The tomb will be open to the public from Oct. 29 to 31.

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