In Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, the surface of the "Gin no Bashamichi", a road exclusively for horse-drawn carriages that connected the Ikuno Ginzan Silver Mine and the present-day Himeji Port in the Meiji period, was confirmed for the first time in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture, and the civil engineering technology of that time is known. It is hoped that this will provide important clues.
"Gin no Bashamichi" was built in 1877 as a road exclusively for horse-drawn carriages to transport silver and other goods mined at the Ikuno Ginzan Silver Mine. ” was certified.
Most of the roads were replaced by city roads, and the details of the situation at that time were not known, but as a result of excavation and survey of the planned park site in the city by the Himeji City Buried Cultural Property Center, it was paved with the latest European technology at the time. It means that the road surface that has been marked has been confirmed.
The road surface is about 80 centimeters wide and 2 meters long, and has a three-layer structure consisting of a layer of coarse stones, soil mixed with pebbles, and sand mixed with gravel on top, making it hard and durable. It is said that it was built so that horses could easily run.
This is the first time that the road surface on which the horse-drawn carriage ran has been confirmed on this "Gin no Bashamichi".
Azusa Seki, chief engineer of the Himeji Buried Cultural Property Center, said, "I was relieved when I was able to confirm the road surface after digging. It will be an important clue in clarifying the civil engineering technology of the time and how the road was built. I think."