Kaigarayama Shell Midden

The Kaigarayama shell midden (貝殻山貝塚, Kaigarayama kaizuka) is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a large-scale Yayoi period settlement with an associated shell midden located in what is now part of the city of Kiyosu, Aichi in the Tōkai region of Japan.

[1] The Kaigarayama Shell Midden is associated with the neighboring Asahi village ruins, which is located 20 minutes on foot from Shin-Kiyosu Station on the Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line.

The site is in a low-lying alluvial area of the Kiso River, with an elevation of five meters above the modern sea level, at the northern end of the Nōbi Plain.

Along with the usual clam shells and fish and animal bones, the midden was found to contain many examples of stone tools and Yayoi pottery.

The midden was discovered in 1929, and was excavated in 1972 due to construction of an interchange junction on Japan National Route 302.