Buyeo Songgukri Prehistoric Settlement

About this place

A Bronze Age pit-house settlement in Songgukri, Buyeo. Located on a low ridge and plateau adjacent to a stream and flatland, it is estimated to contain more than 100 pit-house sites. The dwellings are either circular or rectangular in plan. Circular dwellings were dug 30–150 cm into the ground (semi-subterranean), with what appears to be an entrance cut into one wall. Although no hearths were found, numerous storage pits were discovered. A long oval pit about 1 m across was dug in the center of the floor, with smaller round pits inside it. Rectangular dwellings are near-surface or surface structures with no post holes found, but featuring developed foundations with flat stones. Many pottery and stone tools were found inside the dwellings, including plain pottery, red-burnished pottery (hongdo), and black-burnished pottery. The plain pottery—with a flat base, long egg-shaped body, and slightly flared rim—differs from earlier plain pottery and is called Songgukri-type pottery. Stone knives, arrowheads, spindle whorls, axes, and other tools were also found. Large quantities of burnt rice and charred wooden planks were found, along with a bronze axe mold resembling the Liaoning type. The site is estimated to date to the 7th–6th centuries BC based on these finds.