Archaeological Site in Songguk-ri, Buyeo

This is a Bronze Age dwelling site at Songguk-ri, Buyeo. It is presumed that more than 100 dwelling sites lie on the low hills and flat ground adjoining the stream and plain. The dwellings are either round or elongated rectangular in plan. The round dwellings were formed by digging pits 30–150 cm deep (a pit-house style), with one wall dug more shallowly to form a doorway. No hearth was found, but a number of storage pits were. In the centre of the floor a long oval pit of around 1 m was dug, and within it several round holes were made. The rectangular dwellings, dug to a depth of less than 30 cm and closer to semi-subterranean or above-ground structures, had no post-holes but show a more developed form using foundation stones. Many pottery vessels and stone tools were excavated from within the dwellings. The pottery included plain ware, red ware (hongdo) and polished black ware (heukdo). The plain ware has a flat base, a long egg-shaped body, and a mouth that flares slightly outward with no distinct neck, differing from earlier plain pottery and so termed Songguk-ri-style pottery. A variety of stone tools were also found, including stone knives, arrowheads, spindle whorls and axes. In addition, a large quantity of charred rice and burnt wooden boards that had been set up as wall panels were recovered, along with a mould for casting bronze axes. This mould was for a fan-shaped bronze axe and resembles examples from the Liaoning region. To the west of the dwelling sites, Korea's first known kiln site for plain pottery was identified. On the basis of the excavated artefacts, the Songguk-ri dwelling site is thought to have been made before the 7th–6th centuries BC by people who lived by farming and hunting, and it is valued as important material illustrating the way of life of Bronze Age people.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buyeo, Chungnam

Designation

Historic Site · 사적