Remains of building in Japan may be palace of ancient shaman Queen Himiko

Archaeologists in Japan have uncovered the remains of an ancient building that they believe was the palace of the shaman Queen Himiko, who is said to have ruled Yamatai in 3^rd century AD.  Scholarly debate over the identity of Himiko and the location of her domain Yamatai have raged for centuries and has been described as “the greatest debate over the ancient history of Japan.” 

Queen Himiko is not mention in Japanese sources, rather it is a classic Chinese historical text written in the late third century, ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’, which gives the earliest and most complete picture of this ancient queen.  The ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’ (compiled ca. 290 AD) is considered one of the most reliable of the Chinese dynastic histories, but its record of this exchange leaves Yamatai’s precise location ambiguous. Yamatai is said to have controlled some 30 other countries making up the Japanese islands, although its actual location has never been proven.  The text describes how the mysterious Himiko came to the throne: