박상현
| 2021-07-02 09:31:06
SEOUL, July 2 (Yonhap) -- Called "Sabi" during the Baekje period (18 BC~660 AD), present-day Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do was the last capital of the kingdom. Modern historians refer to Baekje of the era as Sabi Baekje (538-660 AD). For this reason, there are many legacies left by Baekje around in this area, located in the midwest of the Korean Peninsula.
An ancient Baekje tomb was found on the eastern outskirts of Buyeo-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, called Eungpyeong-ri, where important artifacts were found.
The Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced on Friday (KST) that it found two specimens of human remains, one gilt-bronze earring, and wooden coffin components such as rings of coffins while investigating a Buyeo ancient tomb.
The region of Eungpyeong-ri has a distribution of many ancient tombs from the Sabi Period, and is assumed to have been the strongpoint at the eastern border of Sabi Captial City. This ancient tomb was discovered due to the ceiling stones being partially damaged while readjusting fields.
“Stone chamber tombs can easily be robbed due to the structure, but there were no signs of previous robbery in this tomb. We conducted an emergency excavation after negotiating with landowners, the Cultural Heritage Administration and Buyeo-gun officials,” said an official from the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage.
The tomb is a typical stone chamber from the Sabi period with a hexagonal-shaped section. The structure consists of a main chamber where the corpse is placed, a tomb entrance passage, and a grave entrance, with the tomb entrance passage being at the right side of the main chamber. The size of the main chamber is 220 cm in length, 110 cm in width, and 115 cm in height. The rocks used in constructing the stone chamber tomes were well-trimmed, large stone slabs.
Two human skulls, as well as hip bones, leg bones and teeth were excavated in this investigation. The gilt-bronze earring has no particular decoration.
The investigation team explained that the tomb was most likely constructed around 600 AD. Considering the size, construction methods and artifacts, it is believed that Baekje aristocrats were buried in the area.
“Although human remains have been found in ancient Baekje tombs like Neung An Gol, overall it is a pretty rare happening,” said the official. “In the long run, we will study the human specimens to restore the people of Baekje, and the wooden coffin components to get a picture of the burial customs in that era.”
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