Fence erected as city’s excavation of Peace Memorial Museum site gets underway
Nov. 9, 2015
by Masanori Wada, Staff Writer
On November 2 the City of Hiroshima launched a large-scale excavation on the site of the Peace Memorial Museum’s main building in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. The first excavation of the site since the museum opened in 1955 is slated to continue through March of next year. The excavation will examine and make a record of remains related to the neighborhood that existed on the site prior to the war and which was destroyed in the atomic bombing. The survey is being conducted prior to a seismic retrofit of the facility next fiscal year.
On November 2 employees of a city contractor erected a fence about 1.8 meters high around the museum’s main building and prohibited entry. After paving stones and concrete are pulled up, the survey will examine a total of 2,200 square meters down to a depth of about 1.5 meters. The Hiroshima City Culture Foundation will launch a survey of the area starting in the middle of this month.
Before the atomic bombing, the Nakajima neighborhood where the museum’s main building now stands was a bustling area lined with houses and shops. In preliminary excavations conducted in March of last year and May of this year, tiles and ceramic bottles from the time of the A-bombing were found.
A spokesperson for the city’s Peace Promotion Division said, “The survey will inconvenience museum visitors, but it is highly likely that remains will be uncovered, and the survey is necessary. The entry restrictions will gradually be eased, so we would appreciate people’s cooperation.”
(Originally published on November 3, 2015)
On November 2 the City of Hiroshima launched a large-scale excavation on the site of the Peace Memorial Museum’s main building in Peace Memorial Park in Naka Ward. The first excavation of the site since the museum opened in 1955 is slated to continue through March of next year. The excavation will examine and make a record of remains related to the neighborhood that existed on the site prior to the war and which was destroyed in the atomic bombing. The survey is being conducted prior to a seismic retrofit of the facility next fiscal year.
On November 2 employees of a city contractor erected a fence about 1.8 meters high around the museum’s main building and prohibited entry. After paving stones and concrete are pulled up, the survey will examine a total of 2,200 square meters down to a depth of about 1.5 meters. The Hiroshima City Culture Foundation will launch a survey of the area starting in the middle of this month.
Before the atomic bombing, the Nakajima neighborhood where the museum’s main building now stands was a bustling area lined with houses and shops. In preliminary excavations conducted in March of last year and May of this year, tiles and ceramic bottles from the time of the A-bombing were found.
A spokesperson for the city’s Peace Promotion Division said, “The survey will inconvenience museum visitors, but it is highly likely that remains will be uncovered, and the survey is necessary. The entry restrictions will gradually be eased, so we would appreciate people’s cooperation.”
(Originally published on November 3, 2015)
