A Study on the Role of Wall Posts in Pit-Houses - In Bronze Age settlement sites in the Kyung-nam Province -

움집 벽주(壁柱)의 흙막이벽 기능에 관한 연구 - 경남지역 청동기 주거지를 중심으로 -

The purpose of this study is to examine the function of wall posts in pit-houses in the Bronze Age, in the Kyung-nam Province. Wall posts were found as post-holes, created after wooden posts had decayed. In this research, the role of wall posts is newly defined from the perspective of a construction engineering. While existing studies in archaeology regard wall posts as sub-posts that support the roof of a pit-house, this study views wall posts as piles installed to support the soil wall, not as sub-posts. Based on the existing reports on excavation in prehistoric settlement sites by archaeologists, the study examines the remnants of the wall posts and remains after a fire. The main findings of this study are threefold. First, the wall posts were installed not as posts but as piles, cut sharply and hammered along the building lines of a pit-house. Second, wall piles were used to support the walls during earthwork, such as excavating and banking for low ground, mostly because a large amount of soil is often lost during the process. Third, wall piles were used as post piles of retaining walls that enabled the installation of transverse wall panels, which were used to prevent the soil loss.