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Japanese Caves and Latte Stones


In Haganta Heights, near the Mission, there is a small park that features some old Japanese caves of WWII era. 


Some kind of important Japanese label was stamped above the door, and a Fallout Shelter in English added later.  This entrance area is very sturdy, and does not show it's age of 70 years. 


 We  went inside.  You walk around a corner to a rectangular room where light was necessary to see.  You walk around another corner, and you are back outside.  We couldn't tell if there were further passages that had been blocked off.


 

 Also at the park was a collection of old latte stones.  Yap has stone money.  Pohnpei has the stone ruins of Nan Madol.  Guam, Siapan, Tinian, and Rota have latte stones.  What were they used for?  They are so ancient, that when the Spanish first came to Guam in the 1600's, the people could not remember what the latte stones were used for.


 The sign says that they were used sometime between 1100 A.D. and 1600 A.D. 


They are guessing that they were the foundation stones for important structures in a village, as explained in the sign above.


Now the latte stone is the symbol of Guam, and small ones made out of cement sit on corners, in front of buildings, etc, all over Guam.

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  1. ~marci~March 18, 2013 at 11:44 PM

    I remember being told that some of the Japanese Caves were considered jail houses. Not sure which ones or where they were...

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