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The Mainichi

News in Easy English: Old castle found in Hyogo mountains by using AI maps

KOBE -- A small, old castle was found in the mountains of Hyogo Prefecture in March. Researchers found the castle using artificial intelligence (AI). The castle was probably built about 700 years ago in the 14th century, during Japan's Nanbokucho period (1336-1392). It's on top of a mountain, about one hour by foot from the nearest road. Because of the shape of the mountain around it, researchers believe the castle was used as a lookout to watch over the area. Researchers found the castle by using new 3D maps from Hyogo Prefecture. The maps show the ground's shape very clearly. AI studied the maps first to look for old Japanese tombs called "kofun." When scientists checked the places found by AI, they discovered some new sites, including this castle site. Lead researcher Yuichi Takata said, "There may be even more old castles around this area. We hope this will help us understand history better." Using AI and 3D maps, people are starting to find more ancient places in Japan's mountains. Usually, it is difficult to find such places just by walking and looking around. But clear map data can help people find these sites much faster. Researchers say, "This new way of finding old places is very useful, both for studying history and for checking before building new roads and towns." (Japanese original by Akira Inoh, Kobe Bureau) Vocabulary castle: a big, strong building where people lived and fought a long time ago researcher: a person who studies something carefully map data: information showing details of roads or land on a map site: a place where something important was built or happened long ago lookout: a high place where people watch for danger or people coming near ancient: very old; from a long time ago tomb: a place in the ground made for dead people three-dimensional (3D): showing something clearly with height, width and deepness (not flat) period: an amount of time in history prefecture: an area in Japan with its own local government