Epigraph for the Incense Burial Ceremony in Eomgil-ri, Yeongam

The 'Epigraph for the Incense Burial Ceremony in Eomgil-ri, Yeongam,' carved onto the natural rock face of Cheorambsan Mountain in Eomgil-ri, Yeongam County, South Jeolla Province, was identified during a field survey carried out at the time of an excavation of dolmens in the nearby areas of Cheongnyong-ri and Jangcheon-ri, Seoho-myeon; it consists of 118 characters incised in 21 lines. Maehyang was a ritual of burying fragrant wood along the shore in anticipation of a future Buddha's advent, and stone inscriptions such as this one record such ceremonies. The epigraph was carved in 1344, the fifth year of King Chunghye of Goryeo, 43 years earlier than the Sacheon Maehyang Stele, already a designated treasure, from 1387, the thirteenth year of King U of Goryeo, and 9 years later than the Chimhyangseok Rock Inscription of Jeongju in North Pyeongan, whose text does not survive, from 1335, the fourth year of King Chungsuk of Goryeo; it is nonetheless the earliest-dated among surviving incense-burial inscriptions in Korea. Its state of preservation is good, and most of the inscription can be deciphered; it records the date of carving, its purpose, the site of the incense burial, the group that buried the incense, the person who made the vow, and the donors and carver, all of which reveal one aspect of the custom of incense burial in the late Goryeo period, giving it important academic value. The original text reads: 釋迦涅槃後二千三百四十九年甲申八月十三日 埋香龍華初會供養之願古乙未 北村去口(岡?)浦 埋置契(唐?) 古乙未堵人 化主及岩 同願金德中(洋?)菲 同源金原(供?)菲 同願申上伯毘(供?)召 同願金炳(知?)令勿 同願金上仿大(西?)明輝 □□千乙未分(?) 彌陀契內 □□契內 千万人 □□ 施主大人 □□ 刻主珍岩

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yeongam, Jeonnam & Gwangju

Designation

Treasure · 보물