20,000 year old ruins preserved as they are! Experience the passage of time at the Underground Forest Museum!

Museums are places where artifacts unearthed from archaeological sites are carefully preserved and displayed.
Spending a holiday contemplating life in those times while gazing at the exhibits is truly a sophisticated way to spend time.
However, museum exhibits are limited to unearthed artifacts, and we can only rely on our imagination to understand what kind of places people lived in.
Those who are particularly interested will need to visit the archaeological sites themselves.

However,rare in the world, where archaeological sites are displayed and preserved exactly as they were when they were excavatedthere is a museum here in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, that is
The name of that museum is"The Underground Forest Museum.
It's an unusual name that you won't forget once you hear it.

This time, we will introduce you to the "Underground Forest Museum"!

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The ruins are displayed exactly as they were when they were excavated!

The "Underground Forest Museum" is a museum where excavated ruins are displayed exactly as they were found.
As soon as you enter the museum, a massive wetland ruin comes into view.

Speaking of archaeological sites,the Sannai-Maruyama siteis famous in the Tohoku region.
This is a Jomon period site, the remains of a settlement with a collection of buildings including dwellings and warehouses.

On the other hand, the exhibits at the "Underground Forest Museum" date back to the Paleolithic period.
There are no buildings or anything like that; only the remains of a campfire where someone likely spent a day camping, and scattered stone tools.
It's astonishing that the events of just one day in the Stone Age have been preserved exactly as they were in the present day.

So how could traces of just one day's camping have been preserved for thousands of years?

The reason for this is probably because Tomizawa, where the Underground Forest Museum is located, is a wetland. The remains of the bonfire, which would normally have been weathered by dust and dirt, were completely sealed by the mud of the wetland over time, and remained buried underground without being weathered or oxidized

It's hard not to feel romantic about the eternal passage of time!

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The second floor exhibition room where you can learn about life at that time

The first floor of the museumthe Tomizawa ruinsas they were, but the second floor is a complete contrast, a semi-experiential exhibition room where visitors can explore the lives of the time together with "Dr. Tomizawa" based on the artifacts unearthed at the Tomizawa ruins.

Professor Tomizawa, an original character from the "Underground Forest Museum," will reveal what kind of hunting lifestyle people lived at that time based on excavated campfire remains and stone tools

It's in the form of a quiz, so it makes you feel like you're thinking about it together. It's designed to be enjoyable for both adults and children, so if you visit with your family, you can have fun learning about history!

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A recreation of the Ice Age forest from 20,000 years ago!

Once you leave the exhibition room, you will reach the exit, but your journey into the Paleolithic era is not over yet

In fact, the garden of the "Underground Forest Museum" is planted with plants that grew in the Tomizawa area at the time!

It's called "The Forest of the Ice Age"!

Although they were unable to recreate the extinct Tomizawa spruce, they were able to use a similar tree, the red spruce. You can see the three zones that once covered Tomizawa: forest, grassland, and wetlands. It is no exaggeration to say that the landscape from approximately 20,000 years ago is on display almost exactly as it was

It's fun to imagine what life was like back then, with herds of deer coming to drink water and Paleolithic people building bonfires on hilltops

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summary

The "Underground Forest Museum" is a rare museum in the world that displays ruins from 20,000 years ago as they were. It is a facility that can be enjoyed by both adults and children, as you can learn about life at that time and experience the scenery of that time

If you want to experience Sendai's activities that have continued for 20,000 years, be sure to check it out!

INFORMATION

• Name: Underground Forest Museum
• Address: 4-3-1 Nagamachi Minami, Taihaku Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, 982-0012
• Phone number: 022-246-9153
• Official URL:https://www.sendai-c.ed.jp/~bunkazai/~chiteinomori/

GOOGLE MAP

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