Citizens Witness the Excavation Site of Sangju's 'Ibukok Toseong,' Embracing the Early Iron Age and Three Kingdoms Period

Gyeongbuk Sangju Museum Opens Sangju Geumheun-ri Site Excavation to the Public

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The excavation site of Ibugok Earthen Fortress in Geumheun-ri, Sangju, Gyeongbuk, presumed to be relics from the Early Iron Age and the Three Kingdoms period, has been opened to the public.

The Sangju Museum in Gyeongbuk announced on the 6th that it held a public briefing session at 2 p.m. on the 1st at the academic excavation site of Ibugok Earthen Fortress in Geumheun-ri, Sabeol-myeon, Sangju.

The event was held to inform citizens of the results and achievements of the excavation investigation, which has been ongoing since April 2021 to secure archaeological data on Ibugok Earthen Fortress and clarify the historical characteristics of the fortress.

The investigation revealed remains such as the fortress walls, ditch facilities from the Early Iron Age, and house sites from the Three Kingdoms period, as well as artifacts including Early Iron Age triangular clay pots and head-shaped pottery, and Three Kingdoms period high-footed bowls, long-necked jars, and fishing net weights.

The museum expects these findings to provide very important clues to clarify the construction period, construction methods, and internal spatial occupation patterns of the fortress, which were anticipated at the time of planning the excavation.

In particular, in the section of the fortress investigated this time (the eastern part of Ibugok Earthen Fortress), traces were found showing that the existing ground surface was cut in an ‘L’ shape and leveled to create a flat base, on which soil was piled to reinforce the fortress walls, along with evidence of wooden palisades installed on the slopes of the walls.

Excavation officials judge the construction period of the fortress to be after the Three Kingdoms period based on the unearthed artifacts, but they expect a clearer determination once the results of natural science analyses are available.

Ditch facilities corresponding to the Early Iron Age were confirmed, and artifacts from the same period were found both inside the remains and throughout the site.

It is presumed that numerous remains from not only the Three Kingdoms period but also the Early Iron Age exist around the site.

Yoon Ho-pil, director of the Sangju Museum, said, “This excavation will serve as a starting point for research to identify early political entities in the Sangju area, and a comprehensive plan is being established for related relics distributed on the hill where Ibugok Earthen Fortress is located to ensure phased excavations are conducted.”

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