A very brief article in the Asahi Shimbun this past Monday describes the discovery at the site of the Heijō Palace of shards of an Islamic vase dating back to the 8th century. This is the oldest Islamic vase yet found in Japan, predating one discovered in the Fukuoka area by roughly 100 years, and, so the article argues, confirming that Nara was a terminus on the “ancient Silk Road of the Sea.”
An amazing find, which helps further cement in our minds the incredible geographic extent of cultural exchange and trade in this early period. But, if I may be permitted to offer a humble amateur’s opinion, I do not think this should be seen to confirm anything. The vase could have come into Japan via Hakata (i.e. Fukuoka) or any number of other ports and then travelled to Heijō-kyō (Nara) afterward, by land.
Nevertheless, an exciting news story. As the Asahi never keeps links for long, here’s a link to a secondary copy of the story: http://news.smashits.com/403472/8th-century-Islamic-vase-found-in-Japan.htm.
————
In other archaeological news, which I am simply reposting after reading about it on the Archaeology.org News Aggregator site:
*Kublai Khan’s Xanadu unearthed in China
*A Roman mosaic in Lod, Israel is re-unearthed; a tourist site is being built around it.
*UNESCO officially acknowledges US-caused damage to Babylon site and intentions to make the site a World Heritage Site and to protect it from further damage. No mention made of any efforts to protect other sites *before* they are damaged in just such a way.
