Abstract
Asphalt and asphaltite were found in the Yashiroda oil field where crude oil was produced between 1869 and 1925. This is a report on the first finding of asphaltite in Japan, covering the asphalt mass of heavy crude oil origin that flowed from a drilled well. The asphaltite specimen is black with brilliant luster and conchoidal fracture, and has a specific gravity of 1.17. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed it as amorphous as evident from a broad peak at 2θ = 18°-25°. Biomarker analysis by GC-MS showed that the asphalt and asphaltite specimens are both of marine origin, the same as the crude oil bitumen collected from the Niitsu oil field. Many excavated asphalt remains at the Osawayachi ruins (Jomon-Heian to Kamakura periods) might have originated from the Yashiroda oil field, which is situated 600 m east of the excavation area.
