| Abstract: |
Introduction: The hardness of the soil is one of the most important characteristics to observe in the stratigraphy of archaeological sites. The hardness is especially useful in detecting the floor surface of prehistoric dwellings where the surface had gradually been hardened by the pressure exerted by the people who had lived in the dwelling. The hardness of the floor surface is not homogeneous within a dwelling pit. It is commonly observed that an area surrounding the fireplace had a tendency to be hard, while areas near the dwelling walls usually tended to be relatively soft. This variation is thought to be due to the different frequencies of activities on different parts of the dwelling. Thus the distribution of hardness of a living surface will assist in reconstructing the floor plan of dwellings where activities took place. Exact measurement of the hardness will be required for this purpose. The penetrometer (Baker and Webley 1978) measures the soil strength assessment, which occurs when the instrument is inserted deeply into the soil. In contrast, Nakayama's hardmeter (Fig. 1) enables measurement of the reacting pressure of the soil at the surface, which is more suitable for examination of the hardness of a living surface (Council for Physical Analyses of Soil 1970). Moreover, the hardmeter is portable, and can take measurements on sloping vertical surfaces as well as on level surfaces. In this report, methodological problems in measuring the hardness of the soil on the dwelling floor will be discussed using data obtained from a pit house of the Kofun Period excavated recently in Tokyo (Excavation Project of Ishikawa-Amano Site 1981).
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