An archaeological excavation was conducted in Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture to identify the tomb of Miguel Chijiwa, who was sent to Europe as a member of the Tensho embassy of Europe in the 16th century. Investigation will be carried out.
Miguel Chijiwa was born in Unzen City, Nagasaki Prefecture, and visited Europe as a member of four boy envoys dispatched to the Sengoku daimyo who worshiped Christianity in 1582, and met the Roman Pope at that time. I was there.
In Tarami-cho, Isahaya City, Nagasaki Prefecture, where a stone monument with the name of Miguel Chijiwa was found, an excavation survey was conducted from the 23rd of last month to identify the tomb, and a briefing session on the survey results was held on the 16th. I did.
Among them, Professor Yusuke Tanaka of Beppu University revealed that he found skulls and teeth that seemed to belong to humans, and metal nails that seemed to belong to bent leg bones and caskets.
On the other hand, this time, we did not find the expected grave goods related to the Christian faith.
Masahiko Asada, a descendant of Miguel Chijiwa, who planned the excavation, said, "I hope that we will find a clean bone and it will be a very big step to identify whether it belongs to Miguel Chijiwa."
The research group will ask experts to carry out a detailed investigation of the bones that appear to belong to humans.