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

When you think of a museum, you probably picture a place where pottery, stone tools, and other artifacts excavated from archaeological sites are carefully organized and displayed

Taking the time to contemplate the lives of the people who once lived in this land while gazing at the exhibits is a unique pleasure of visiting a museum

However, typical museums mainly display artifacts excavated from archaeological sites. To understand where and in what condition these artifacts were actually found, one can only rely on photographs of the excavation site and reconstructed models to imagine what it was like

However, in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, there is a museum that preserves the site where the ruins dating back approximately 20,000 years were excavated, and displays the remains of the forest and human activity from that time

That facility is the "Underground Forest Museum" located in Taihaku Ward, Sendai City. Its official name is the "Sendai City Tomizawa Archaeological Site Preservation Museum," and it opened on November 2, 1996, as a themed museum that mainly introduces the Paleolithic period

This time, we'll introduce the Underground Forest Museum, which conveys the landscape and human activities of Sendai from approximately 20,000 years ago

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

The most distinctive feature of the Underground Forest Museum is that it preserves and displays the Tomizawa archaeological site, which dates back approximately 20,000 years, without separating it from the site where it was excavated

Descending the stairs inside the building and proceeding to the underground exhibition room, a vast archaeological site unfolds before your eyes. What remains there are traces of campfires used by Paleolithic people, stone tools, and tree roots and trunks buried underground

At the Tomizawa site, preliminary surveys were conducted from 1987 to 1988 in conjunction with the construction of an elementary school. These surveys uncovered traces of activity left by people from the Paleolithic period, approximately 20,000 years ago, as well as remnants of a forest from that era

This survey was the 30th excavation conducted at the Tomizawa site, and is therefore called the "30th Tomizawa Site Excavation."

The survey revealed rice paddy remains from the early modern, medieval, Heian, Kofun, and Yayoi periods, starting from the current ground level. Beneath these, peat layers containing plant roots and stems, as well as Jomon period pits and traces of fallen trees, were also discovered

Further investigation revealed that, approximately 5 meters below the current surface, traces of activity left by Paleolithic people from about 20,000 years ago and the remains of a forest from that time were discovered in the same location

Archaeological sites that simultaneously show evidence of human activity and forest formations, and that retain their original state at the excavation site, are considered extremely rare worldwide

To preserve this valuable discovery for future generations, the city of Sendai changed the planned site for the elementary school. Instead, they constructed the Underground Forest Museum, a facility that preserves and displays the ruins in their original location

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Campfire remains that tell the story of a single night approximately 20,000 years ago

One of the most noteworthy features in the underground exhibition room is the traces of campfires left behind by people from the Paleolithic era

Small chunks of charred wood, formed from burning wood, were discovered clustered together in an area about 70-80 cm in diameter on a slightly elevated area of ​​the ground. Based on analysis, it is believed to be the remains of a campfire that was used for about one night

More than 100 stone tools were found around the campfire site

The reconstructed film shown in the underground exhibition room depicts events from a day approximately 20,000 years ago, based on the results of archaeological excavations. It shows several Paleolithic people visiting the site, making stone tools around a campfire, repairing a spear that broke during a hunt, eating a meal, and then heading out to hunt again

It's astonishing that traces of a single night spent by people approximately 20,000 years ago have been preserved in such a concrete form to this day

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What we can learn from forest remains about Sendai approximately 20,000 years ago

The underground exhibition room contains not only traces of human activity, but also remnants of the forest that once covered this area

Many of the trees discovered are the now-extinct coniferous tree, *Picea tomizawaensis*. Other conifers and a few broad-leaved trees have also been identified

Not only trees, but also deer droppings and insect wings were found at the site. By studying these, we can see that about 20,000 years ago, Sendai had a colder environment than it does today, and animals and insects lived in forests mainly composed of coniferous trees

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How are the excavated ruins being preserved?

The Tomizawa archaeological site is not a relocation of excavated ruins to another location. The ground, approximately 20,000 years old, is preserved in its original location without being separated from the earth

Therefore, the Underground Forest Museum employs special architectural and preservation techniques to protect the ruins

The building has a structure that does not have a typical floor on the surface of the ruins, and an outer wall approximately 80 cm thick has been constructed to a depth of about 20 m underground to prevent groundwater intrusion

Furthermore, trees and soil left at archaeological sites are treated with a preservative called "polysiloxane." Polysiloxane suppresses moisture movement and prevents the growth of mold and other microorganisms, and different types are used for trees and soil

Furthermore, humidity, airflow, and groundwater levels within the exhibition rooms are continuously monitored

Preserving excavated ruins while they remain connected to the earth is also about continuously engaging with the natural environment itself. Inside the museum, please pay attention not only to the ruins themselves, but also to the science and technology used to preserve them for the future

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The first-floor exhibition room offers insights into life at that time

After viewing the approximately 20,000-year-old ruins in the underground exhibition hall, we proceed to the permanent exhibition hall on the first floor

Here, using materials discovered at the Tomizawa archaeological site as clues, you can learn in detail about the lives of people in the Paleolithic period and the natural environment of that time

The guide for the exhibition is Dr. Tomizawa, an original character from the Underground Forest Museum

By examining campfire remains, stone tools, and traces of plants and animals, we will explore how Paleolithic people hunted, made tools, and lived in cold environments

The exhibits include quizzes and other interactive elements, allowing visitors to learn about the Paleolithic period not just by looking at materials, but by thinking for themselves

In the underground exhibition hall, you can experience the scale and atmosphere of the ruins, and in the first-floor exhibition hall, you can learn about the meaning of the traces left there. By viewing both exhibits together, you will get a more concrete picture of the people who lived approximately 20,000 years ago

Because it's designed to be easy for children to understand, it's also recommended as a facility where families can learn about history and archaeology together

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

Even after you've finished viewing the exhibits inside the museum, your journey into the Paleolithic era continues

Outside the Underground Forest Museum, there is a "Glacial Forest" that recreates the natural environment that existed around Tomizawa approximately 20,000 years ago

Since the Tomizawa spruce discovered at the ruins is already extinct, the Sakhalin spruce, which closely resembles it, has been planted to recreate the forest of that time

Within the park, you can observe forests consisting of trees such as Sakhalin spruce, Larch, White birch, Alder, and Hazel, as well as recreated grasslands, wetlands, and ponds. In the grasslands, you can see plants such as Thalictrum aquilegiifolium and Sanguisorba officinalis; in the wetlands, sedges, cypress, and skunk cabbage; and in the pond, Menyanthes trifoliata

By observing the cold-climate vegetation, which differs from that of present-day Sendai city, it becomes easier to imagine what kind of landscape the remnants of the forest remaining in the underground exhibition room once formed

One of the unique pleasures of this garden is to stroll through it while imagining herds of deer coming in search of water, or Paleolithic people gathered around a campfire on a small hill

Because the plants and insects that can be seen vary depending on the season, it is worthwhile not only for those interested in archaeology but also for those interested in plants and nature

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summary

The Underground Forest Museum is a Paleolithic-themed museum that preserves and displays traces of human activity and forests dating back approximately 20,000 years, discovered at the Tomizawa archaeological site, right where they were excavated

In the underground exhibition room, you can experience a night spent by people approximately 20,000 years ago and get a sense of the natural environment of that time through the remains of a campfire, stone tools, and buried trees

Furthermore, in the exhibition room on the first floor, you can learn about life in the Paleolithic era from excavated materials, and in the outdoor "Ice Age Forest," you can experience vegetation from about 20,000 years ago

The circumstances surrounding the discovery of the ruins, as well as the architectural and scientific technologies employed to preserve them on-site, are major highlights of this facility

When you visit the Underground Forest Museum, be sure to take in not only the stone tools on display, but also the ground on which they were placed, the surrounding forest, and the preservation techniques that continue to protect the ruins

You'll be able to feel surprisingly close to the lives of the people who lived in Sendai about 20,000 years ago

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