Dunsan Prehistoric Site

On a low hill in the middle of Dunsan, overlooked by the high-rises of the Daejeon Government Complex, stand a few thatched pit houses. The Dunsan Prehistoric Site was discovered in 1991 during construction of the Dunsan new town, and it was the first place in Korea where remains from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Bronze Age were all excavated at a single site. Between the office towers, you can walk across the home ground of people who lived in Daejeon thousands of years ago.

Three ages on one hill

The site sits on gentle slopes near the Gapcheon stream, where wide fields and plentiful water drew settlers from very early on. Part of it had already been damaged by housing construction when it was found, but Palaeolithic and Neolithic remains turned up on the east and north sides of the hilltop and Bronze Age remains on the south-west side. It was designated a Daejeon monument on 28 October 1992.

• Palaeolithic: an area of about 660 m² produced some 50 stone tools, including cores, hammerstones, double-edged choppers and scrapers, plus the flakes left over from making them. Judging by how they were made, they date to the late Middle or early Upper Palaeolithic.
• Neolithic: several small pit dwellings, 2–3 m across and 0.8–1.3 m deep (13 or 15, depending on the source). Finds include comb-pattern pottery, a stone plough blade, grinding stones and net sinkers, showing a strong west-coast comb-ware tradition with some influence from the north-eastern coast around Hamgyeong.
• Bronze Age: three house sites yielded fragments of top-shaped plain pottery, spindle whorls for spinning thread, stone axes, arrowheads, knives and whetstones.

What to see

• Reconstructed pit houses: thatched huts have been rebuilt over Neolithic and Bronze Age house sites. You can peer inside through the entrance beneath the conical roofs and imagine a whole family living in such a small space.
• House-site markers: markers on the grassy slopes show where each dwelling stood and which period it belongs to. Compare them with the reconstructed huts as you walk and the differences between the periods become clear.
• Two entrances: a stone marker with the site's name stands at the east entrance, while the north-east side has a traditional gate with a tiled roof, which makes a striking contrast with the glass towers behind it.

Good to know

From its discovery in 1991, the site was closed off by a wall about 600 m long. A campaign to tear down walls and open such spaces to the public grew, and in 2008, after 17 years, the wall came down. Visitor numbers more than doubled, and today local office workers and residents wander through it as if it were any other park.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 06:00–21:00, every day of the year. Admission and parking are free.
• Getting there: it is just over a 5-minute walk north-west of Government Complex-Daejeon Station on Daejeon Metro Line 1. The address is 9 Daedeok-daero 317beon-gil, Wolpyeong-dong, Seo-gu.
• Time needed: 20–30 minutes to see the huts and house sites.
• Combine with: Hanbat Arboretum, the National Science Museum and Expo Science Park are close by, making an easy half day around Dunsan.
• Worth knowing: the huts are reconstructions based on the excavation. Read the information boards at each house site as you go to get the most out of the visit.