OSAKA -- A team of Japanese archaeologists has found a mask-shaped wooden piece, which is believed to be the oldest of its kind in the country's history, in the western Japanese prefecture of Nara, local press reported on Friday.

The wooden product, dating back to the late second century, was excavated from one of the ancient ruins, the Daifuku Remains, in Sakurai City of the prefecture, according to the daily Mainichi Shimbun.

The city said the team has uncovered the historic site since 2008, adding that its members discovered the wooden piece in the shape of human face, which is 23.4 centimeters long, 7 centimeters wide and 5 millimeters thick together with wooden armors and bronze products during the excavation work.

After the discovery, the city's research institute for cultural properties confirmed that the artifact was the half part of a wooden mask which was made decades earlier than other wooden masks hitherto had found also in the city.

Teruhiko Hashimoto, chief researcher at the city's cultural assets division said to Xinhua "Since we can recognize an 'eye', a part of a 'mouth' and two small holes which are gouged out part of the wooden board, we think the wooden object was used as a mask by an influential group of residents around the area to arrange a religious or solemn ceremony to show performed actions with the item."

"We will continue further investigations into which kind of people wore the mask in the ancient times," he added.

The wooden "mask" is displayed from Friday in the city cultural assets museum.