Ancient Tombs in Jisan-dong, Goryeong

Goryeong was the seat of Dae Gaya, and hundreds of tombs remain here. Seventy-two have been numbered — those with a clear mound worth counting. They sort by size and by height: the large ones along the crest, the middle ones on the slope, the small ones scattered around and below them. Inside they vary — stone-lined cists, stone-walled chambers, stone rooms — and the cist form carries a Bronze Age tradition forward by a thousand years. Where several burials share one mound, they are not a family plot: the others were buried with the principal occupant. Tomb 44 alone accounted for more than thirty such burials, the largest instance documented in Korea. The large tombs also gave up gilt-bronze crowns, armour, helmets, swords and ornaments, from the fourth to the sixth century.

Original Text

Where it is

Region

Goryeong, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Historic Site · 사적