Ancient Tombs in Daho-ri, Changwon

These tombs from the period of early state formation lie at Daho-ri in Changwon, Gyeongsangnam-do. The setting, where hills meet low, damp flatland, allowed wooden artefacts to survive. Surveys found that most tombs are wooden-coffin pit tombs, with a few jar-coffin burials also present. The wooden-coffin tombs fall into three types according to the size of the burial pit and the presence or absence of a separate pit for grave goods, differences thought to reflect the status of the tomb occupants. The coffin found in Tomb No. 1 is trough-shaped, made by splitting a log 1m in diameter lengthwise and hollowing it out, differing from the wooden coffins of Korea's north-western region. Excavated relics include bronze artefacts such as bronze daggers and Chinese mirrors (Han mirrors), Wu Zhu coins, and iron artefacts such as swords, knives, cast axes, and forged plate-shaped axes. Also found were a sword scabbard, a bow, arrows, a lidded bowl, a writing brush, a fan, lacquerware, plain earthenware and grey stoneware. In particular, the excavation of a Chinese star-cloud-pattern mirror and Wu Zhu coins, a Chinese currency, indicates that the Daho-ri tombs date to somewhere between the 1st century BC and the latter half of the 1st century AD. Given the variety of iron artefacts and Chinese-related relics recovered, the tombs are thought to belong to the rulers of a local power that traded with China and Lelang on the strength of the region's iron production. The Daho-ri tombs provide fresh material on the period of early state formation, a blank period in ancient Korean history. The discovery of a coffin hollowed from a log presented a new form of wooden coffin, while the writing brush, evidence of literacy, and a stringed instrument regarded as the forerunner of the gayageum, together with the Wu Zhu coins and star-cloud mirror pointing to active trade with China and Lelang, make this a valuable site for reconstructing the culture of the period.

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Where it is

Region

Changwon, Gyeongnam

Designation

Historic Site · 사적