Dongsam-dong Shell Midden

On a grassy rise by the sea on the east side of Yeongdo Island, layer upon layer of shells discarded by Neolithic people over thousands of years lie under the turf. It looks like an ordinary lawn, yet this is one of the oldest and largest Neolithic sites on Korea's south coast, and it has yielded evidence of contact across the sea with Kyushu in Japan. Visit the free exhibition hall next door first, and the mound will look very different.

What a shell midden tells us

A shell midden is a heap of shells left by people who ate shellfish, built up over centuries. The shells make the soil alkaline, which preserves animal bones and bone tools well, so a midden is both a prehistoric rubbish tip and an archive of daily life.

The Dongsam-dong midden was first noticed in 1929. After trial digs by American researchers in the 1960s and excavations by the National Museum of Korea, it was investigated more than ten times up to 2015. Its layers span the whole Neolithic period, and by some estimates people lived here from about 8,000 years ago. It became a national Historic Site in 1979.

Neolithic seafarers

The most intriguing finds came from across the water. Japanese Jōmon pottery turned up alongside stone tools made of obsidian, and chemical analysis traced the obsidian to northern Kyushu: proof that Neolithic people crossed the Korea Strait, using Tsushima as a stepping stone. The many shell bracelets found here are thought to have been traded for that obsidian.

• Diet: bones of deer, wild boar, tuna, sea lions and whales were found along with oyster shells. Catching large fish such as sharks and tuna meant going far out to sea.
• Deer-pattern pottery: a red-painted sherd scratched with two deer, among the oldest known pictures on the Korean Peninsula.
• Shell mask and bear figurine: objects linked to rituals and animal worship.

Dongsam-dong Shell Midden Museum

The small museum beside the site is run by Busan Museum. Gallery 1 covers the Neolithic environment and how middens form; Gallery 2 shows hunting and fishing tools, ornaments, ritual objects and the links with Japan. Climb the grassy mound afterwards and you can picture the shore where people once opened shellfish, right in front of today's Hari fishing harbour.

Tripto tips

• Hours: the museum is open Tuesday–Sunday 09:00–18:00; closed on Mondays and 1 January (if a Monday is a public holiday, it closes the next day instead). Admission is free.
• Time needed: 40 minutes to an hour for the museum and the mound.
• Getting there: take Busan Metro Line 1 to Nampo Station, Exit 6 (towards Yeongdo Bridge) and change to bus 8, 30 or 190; get off at "Haeyangdae Samgeori, Dongsam-dong Shell Midden Museum". From Jungang Station Exit 2, bus 101 stops at the same place.
• Nearby: the National Maritime Museum of Korea is within walking distance and Taejongdae is a short bus ride away, so the east side of Yeongdo makes an easy day out.