A 1500-year-old black box was opened, the golden tomb of King Muryeong containing the secret of Baekje

Among the relics excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong, the king’s golden crown ceremony (coffin decoration). [사진 국립공주박물관]

Cheonmachong, Hwangnamdaegun, Dance Gun, Ssangyeonggun… . The tombs of Silla and Goguryeo generally end with a’gun’, but why is the tomb of King Muryeong’neung’? If you have ever had this question, you are ready to open the 1500-year-old ancient history’black box’. As such, the tomb of King Muryeong is the key to unlocking Baekjesa. On July 5, 1971, if the bricks of the tomb were not caught at the end of the drainage pipe’s blade, the entire Baekje and Samguksa temples may have been dark for a long time.

“A total of 17 national treasures came out, but there is no case like this from a single grave. Jiseok is the first among them. It was a decisive opportunity for the development of archeology and archaeological art history by presenting the absolute years of relics that were not found in any tombs of the Three Kingdoms period.”

This is the explanation of Professor Jae-yoon Jeong (Historical Department) of Gongju University, who publishes the Unfinished Myth, a popular history book about King Muryeong in the first half of this year. The jiseok referred to here is National Treasure No. 163, which is also called a gravestone or neungseok. It is also called Maeji-kwon because it contains information about buying land and using a grave. In the tomb of King Muryeong, the king’s and queen’s stone stones appeared. It is recorded that he died in Gyemyo Year (523) along with the name of’Baekje King Sama of the Great General of Yeongdong’. The tomb of King Muryeong is the only tomb in the Three Kingdoms era with such a certain year of birth, reign, and death.

In general, the tombs of kings or queens are called tombs (Taereung, Jeongneung, etc.) and the tombs of ordinary people are called ‘~myo’. The gun is like a king’s grave, but the name given when the main character is unknown. For example, at the time of excavation of Cheonmachong, Gyeongju Kim Jong-in’s meeting asked, “Why do you call it Cheonmachong, since the royal tomb of Silla is sure?”, but it was ignored because it was not possible to know whose tomb was. Ji Geon-gil, former director of the National Museum of Korea, who repeatedly participated in the excavation of King Muryeong’s tomb and Cheonmachong, said, “Although there is a tomb of King Muyeol in Silla, the actual location was not specified or excavated. He emphasized that the only “neung” of the Three Kingdoms era recognized by the archaeological and historical academia is the tomb of King Muryeong.”

Detailed exposure of the upper part of the year when the tomb of King Muryeong was excavated. [사진 국립문화재연구소]

Among the relics excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong, Seoksu (Jinmyosu) and Jiseok (Tombstone). [사진 국립문화재연구소]

Among the relics excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong, the part written on the stone of the king’s graveyard is’Yeongdong Grand General Baekje Sama’. ‘Sama’ is the name of King Muryeong during his lifetime. [사진 국립공주박물관]

Moreover, the tomb of King Muryeong is the only tomb of Baekje that was not excavated or stolen during the Japanese colonial period. During the Japanese colonial period, it was robbed by Japanese Karube Zion (1897-1970), who worked as a Gongju high school teacher. In 1940, when Karube left the princess, he said, “Investigating more than 1,000 tombs of Baekje.” Even if Karube is not damaged, the structure of the Baekje tomb is easier to rob than Silla. Choi Byeong-hyun, an emeritus professor at Soongsil University, said, “Silla’s Jeokseok Mokwak (stone-middle-shattered tomb) is difficult for robbers to take away relics without destroying it, whereas Baekje is either a stone-banged tomb or a battlefield (brick tomb). Explained. However, the tomb of King Muryeong, which was located right next to Songsan-ri No. 6, miraculously escaped the eyes of Karube or other robbers, revealing its reality intact after 1500 years.

Even if it has been completely preserved, the Baekje tombs have relatively few burial items. The relics that Karube might have stolen do not know where they went. However, thousands of artifacts, including 17 national treasures, were poured into the tomb of King Muryeong. Particularly, the elaborate metal craft that uses thin gold plates freely is a state of enchanting artistry. Even if they look alike, the royal crown decoration (coffin decoration) is in the shape of several layers of blazing fire, and the queen’s resembles a lotus flower that is just rising. A total of five pairs of gold earrings and two gold necklaces have the true essence of Baekje-mi, which is’simple but not shabby’ (儉而不陋, Geomyibulu). There is nothing that is unsurprising, even with the elaborate Shinsu pattern mirror, silver table cup, and silver bracelet.

King’s gold earrings among relics excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong. [사진 국립공주박물관]

The queen’s pillow among relics excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong. [사진 국립공주박물관]

A dragon-patterned bracelet inscribed from a relic excavated from the tomb of King Muryeong. It was engraved on the inside of the bracelet that it was made by a craftsman named’Dari’ for the godfather. [사진 국립공주박물관]

These relics have a distinct historical character thanks to the absolute edition of the cemetery stone. Furthermore, the materials and styles revealed by subsequent studies give important implications for trade exchanges in East Asia at the time. Professor Jeong Jae-yoon explained, “It is possible to reaffirm the status of Baekje in the 6th century through Chinese celadon and coins, tubular materials made of Japanese gold pine, and relics of beads, a raw material in Southeast Asia.” Jang-Yeol Choi, head of the curator research department at the National Princess Museum, also mixed with laughter, saying, “An ancient history book 『Three Kingdoms』 and 『Three Kingdoms』 is mainly written in Silla, and the ruins of Baekje are very few. Emphasized.

“The first half of the 6th century was an unprecedented period of active exchanges between Baekje, Yang Dynasty (China), and Japan,” said Oh-young Kwon, a professor at Seoul National University. It remains intact in the tomb,” he pointed out. It goes without saying that when the Baekje Historic District, including Songsan-ri tombs, was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015, the ‘globalness of Baekje relics’ was emphasized positively.

The excavation of the tomb of King Muryeong, however, coexists with light and darkness. It took only 12 hours to expel such colorful and valuable relics from the tomb. It was’super-high-speed excavation’ enough to be appropriate for the expression “we took it away”. It is only 5 days from the time when a brick was caught at the end of a construction worker’s blade until the morning of July 9, when the excavation team shook their hands. Has anyone left his back? What was the obsession that engulfed the excavation team in July 1971? What happened in Songsan-ri, Princess that night?

The interior of the tomb of King Muryeong in Baekje. The tomb of King Muryeong, excavated in 1971, was permanently closed in 1997 for internal protection. [중앙포토]

〈Continue to Part 2〉
Coverage·Written = Reporter Kang Hye-ran, Graphics·Video = Shim Information·Lee Se-young
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