Shell Midden in Daehang-riThe historic site of Daehang-ri Shell Midden found along the coast in Hapgumi Village in Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun.
Shell Midden in Daehang-ri and the West SeaThis photo shows the Shell Midden, which is Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 50, in Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, and the West Sea.
CategoryCultural Heritage / Tangible Cultural Heritage
Korean대항리 패총
Chinese大項里貝塚
Nickname대항리 조개더미|대항리 조개무지
FieldHistory / Premodern
Contents TypeHistoric Site / Historic Site (General)
Current Location389-1, Byeonsan-ro Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
ManagerBuan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
Definition
A shell midden dating back to between the Neolithic Period and the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period, located in Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
Summary
Shell midden such as the one in Daehang-ri, many of which have been found during excavations of Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron (Three Kingdoms Period) sites in Korea, reflect the way of life and culture of those periods. A shell midden, also known as a shell midden, is a large rounded heap consisting of multiple layers of shells. Shell middens are composed of different cultural layers mixed with everyday objects dating from each distinct period. The artifacts excavated from each layer of a shell midden are used by archaeologists to “resurrect” or reconstitute ancient ways of life and cultures by identifying their age, cultural characteristics, and natural environment. Although a shell midden is really a rubbish dump where people threw their daily waste, it is also a very important archaeological resource akin to a time capsule containing artifacts from a given period of human history.
Background of Construction
The Shell Midden in Daehang-ri was formed between the Neolithic Period and the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period in present-day Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun. The ancient inhabitants of the area collected seashells and discarded them along with other waste in this spot over a long period of time.
Location
The Shell Midden in Daehang-ri is located on the shore (the west coast of Jeollabuk-do) near the village of Jogaemi in Daehang-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, about 1 kilometer from Byeonsan Beach in the east, and opposite the Tideland Research Center of Gunsan University, which is located about 300 meters from the bus stop located at the entrance to the village of Daehang.
Forms
This shell midden dating from the Neolithic Period covers an area of 3,484m2 and is located on a gentle hill connected to the shore, where a cliff face has been formed by tidal erosion. The shell midden is 14 meters long from north-south and 10 meters long from east-west, and ranges from 53cm to 63cm thick. The deposit in the underlying rock formation is up to 127 cm deep from the surface of the ground, while the shell layer has formed about 50 cm below the surface. Although the embankment was built to prevent tidal erosion, the shell midden is still at risk of destruction because the area is still being cultivated.
Current Status
When the Shell Midden in Daehang-ri was discovered in 1967, the shell layer was about 50 centimeters thick. The excavation of the shell midden unearthed five chipped stone implements made of porphyry, which are thought to be stone axes, and two fragments of earthenware that were initially reported to be pieces of comb-pattern pottery. Recently, however, archaeologists have discussed the possibility that these fragments are actually the remains of plain coarse pottery. In addition, fragments of plain coarse pottery dating from the Bronze Age and fragments of pottery with a stamped design dating from the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period were discovered during a recent investigation. Although it was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument in 1981, the area around the shell midden continued to be used as farmland, and the full size of the shell midden were only fully ascertained during the survey and excavation conducted in 2012.
Historical Significance
The Shell Midden in Daehang-ri was designated as Jeollabuk-do Monument No. 50 on April 11, 1981 in recognition of its importance as an archaeological resource for research on the way of life and culture of the Neolithic Period. It was originally reported to be a shell midden of the Neolithic Period, but after the recent discovery of pottery fragments, it was dated to somewhere between the Neolithic Period and the Proto-Three Kingdoms Period.
