Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site

On the east bank of the Han River, the Amsa-dong Prehistoric Site is where Neolithic people lived in a village about 6,000 years ago. An exhibition hall built directly over the excavated house pits and a park dotted with thatched pit houses bring to life an era most people only know from comb-pattern pottery in textbooks.

History: a village revealed by the 1925 flood

The site came to light during the great flood of 1925, when the river cut into its bank. A joint university team began investigating in 1967, and the National Museum of Korea carried out four excavation seasons in 1971–1975. Radiocarbon dates place the settlement in the 4th to 3rd millennium BC, and successive digs have revealed more than 40 house pits with related features and stone structures. Several distinct cultural layers were identified, the upper one yielding Baekje-period jar burials and building remains. The site was designated a Historic Site in 1979, opened to the public in 1988, and gained a second exhibition hall in 2000.

What to see

• Exhibition Hall 1 (site shelter): a roof built over the excavated house pits. From a raised walkway you look down on round and rounded-square pits, some still showing a stone-lined hearth in the middle.
• Exhibition Hall 2: reconstruction models of pit houses, a scale model of the site and hands-on corners such as making fire with a bow drill.
• Reconstructed pit houses: several conical thatched huts stand in the park, one of them furnished inside to show fishing, hunting and gathering. A few bare frames help you understand how they were built.
• Finds: pointed-base comb-pattern pottery, stone axes, net sinkers, grinding slabs and stones, and charred acorns.

Good to know

• The houses were dug into the ground, typically 5–6 m long and 70–100 cm deep, with entrances usually facing south. Four corner posts appear to have supported the roof.
• Amsa-dong is regarded as the largest village-scale Neolithic site found in Korea so far.
• Its riverside location preserves a clear picture of a life based on fishing in the Han and gathering acorns.

Nearby

• Amsa Ecological Park and the Han River cycle path: riverside trails continue south of the site.
• Seoul Olympic Park: about 4.5 km away; adding the Baekje earthen fortress of Mongchontoseong links the prehistory and early history of the Han basin.

Tripto tips

• Opening hours: 09:30–18:00 (last entry 17:30). Closed on Mondays and 1 January; when a Monday is a public holiday, it closes on the next weekday.
• Admission: adults KRW 500, school students KRW 300. Free for children aged 7 and under and visitors aged 65 and over.
• Getting there: the address is 875 Olympic-ro, Gangdong-gu. It is walkable from the Amsa area stations on Line 8, and there is a car park with 105 spaces.
• With children: prehistoric craft programmes such as pottery and jewellery making are offered. The park has little shade, so bring a hat in summer.
• Time needed: allow 1 to 1.5 hours for both halls and the pit-house park.