Geumgwanchong () is a

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

-era

tumulus A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

in modern-day

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

, South Korea. Gyeongju was the capital of Silla. Believed to date from the fifth or sixth century CE, the tomb was excavated in 1921. It was the first tomb that was found to contain a gold crown of the Silla royalty, and is still the largest crown excavated thus far. The tomb takes its name from the crown.Rutt (1999), p.145 Over 40,000 other artifacts were recovered from the tomb, including "gold, silver, and bronze vessels, gold and silver weapons, gilt-bronze plate armor, stoneware vessels, 20,000 mainly blue Indo-Pacific beads, and horse fittings."Francis. (2002), p.47 The diameter of the tomb is 45 m and the height is 12 m. Such stone mounded tombs only existed in the Shinar Era. It is believed that the tomb was varnished and lacquered. The structure of the tomb and the

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

influence suggest that it was built after the reign of King Jijeung. This would place the date around the 6th century, which was before the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...

period. The Geumgwanchong has one burial mound, and the structure is simple and does not contain a special artifacts room.

Excavation of the tomb

The artifacts were found in the process of construction work in the backyard of a private house in 1921. Surveying started immediately and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese interest in Silla tumuli rose with the beginning the excavation. As a result, other large tombs, such as Geumryungchong and Seabongchong, were discovered.

Artifacts discovered

Gold and silver belt ornaments were excavated at the same time as the Gold Crown. They were made with a thin band of either gold or silver and had 17 pendants in various shapes. The silver belt ornaments have a similar design as those excavated in Baekje Royal Tomb, indicating contact between Silla and

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

in the later half of the 5th century. The vessels were made of gold and silver, gold and bronze alloying, and gold and bronze. In addition, pots with four corners and Korean traditional caldrons made of cast iron were inscribed with delicate engraving that showed relations with

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

at the time. A bronze tripod pouring vessel is possibly of Chinese import. The working class of the time were unlikely to have used metal vessels and these vessels indicate the high quality of life of the Silla ruling class. Weapons found included gold and silver swords and gold and bronze helmets and armor. The scabbard was ascribed with four Chinese characters 'King Isaji (尒斯智王)', which is regarded as the owner of the tomb. There are only speculations because no historical text mentioned about the king Isaji.

Jabi of Silla Jabi (r. 458–479, died 479), also known by his title Jabi Maripgan, was the 20th ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He was the eldest son of King Nulji, and his mother was the daughter of King Silseong. He married the daughter of K ...

and Soji of Silla are the candidates for the owner. A golden girdle found in the tomb is another important symbol of royalty and is only found in royal tombs. The girdle is about two metres in length, and is made up of 39 plaques, with various charms dangling from the main belt.Nelson, (1993) pp.249-257 The golden crown found in this tomb is notable for its intricate open metal-work inner cap containing images of bird wings, which is symbolic of shamanistic practices. The ornamentation of the crown is simple and balanced and features heart, fish scales, and diamond T shapes. A diadem ornament features an image of a bird about to fly. On the wings of the crown, a dragon pattern is engraved.

References

*Francis, Peter. (2002), ''Asia's maritime bead trade: 300 B.C. to the present'', University of Hawaii Press, *Nelson, Sarah M., (1993) ''The archaeology of Korea, Cambridge world archaeology World Archaeology Series'' Cambridge University Press, *Rutt, Richard; Hoare, James. (1999) ''Korea: a historical and cultural dictionary. '', Durham East-Asia series. Routledge. {{coord missing, South Korea
Archaeological sites in South Korea Buddhist archaeological sites in Korea Tumuli in Gyeongju Tombs of Silla monarchs

Excavation of the tomb

Artifacts discovered

See also

References