Archaeologists have discovered a ghostly human-shaped artifact at a fifth-century burial mound in Japan. The clay figurine's appearance suggests it represents a female shaman who once guarded a tomb.

The artifact was unearthed at the archaeological site of Nishikaminomiya, northwest of Tokyo, according to a translated statement from Japan's Gunma prefectural government. At the site, archaeologists found nearly a dozen burial mounds known as "kofun" dated to the fifth and sixth centuries.