Goryeo Celadons Excavated in the Sea near Nakwoldo Island, Yeonggwang were produced in the 11th century Haenam

영광 낙월도 해역서 나온 고려청자는 11세기 해남산

송고시간 | 2019-05-21 09:52

국립해양문화재연구소, 발굴조사 보고서 발간

(Seoul = Yonhapnews ) The sea near Nakwoldo Island at Yeonggwang County, Jeollanam-do Province, is a place where several reports of artifacts have been received since the late 1970s. 

It is about 20 km from the spot where Mokpo Sinan Shipwreck, one of the most important events in the history of domestic underwater cultural heritage excavation, was found. 

The National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage conducted exploration surveys seven times in the marine area from April 2012 to June 2016, and last year excavated the underwate area from May to November. 

Excavated Goryeo Dynasty celadons

All of the artifacts found through the survey are 100 items. Among them, 60 types of materials with perfect form are available, and ceramics are the most abundant. 

According to "the Underwater Excavation Survey Report of the Yeonggwangdo Island" that the research institute released on the 21st, the ceramics found in the sea area near Nakwoldo Island consist of 49 celadons, 8 white porcelains and 3 ceramics. 

Celadon has the largest number of dishes (37 dishes), with 10 and 2 dishes each. There is no pattern, and the quality is relatively poor quality celadon. 

The institute said, "the relics are similar to the ones excavated from the Sindeungri kiln in Haenam." 

Five white porcelain dishes, two plates and one cup were found. There are artifacts painted with blue technique in the foot. Pottery is two pots and one plate. 

Lee Kee-young, director of the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage, said, "although the survey did not find the place where artifacts or ancient ships, the fact that the same pottery has been disceverd is not a small achievement" "we hope the report can contribute to the understanding of underwater artifacts." 

Abstract of "the Underwater Excavation Survey Report of the Yeonggwangdo Island" 

Yeonggwang Nakwoldo is the first inhabited island that emerges in the North beyond the Sinan Sea of Jeonnam,

which has a lot of islands. The Nakwoldo waters area is where several reports on relics have been accumulated since the

late 1970s. As many as 15 reports have been filed in the islands and their waters belonging to Nakwol-myeon. 

Excavated Goryeo Dynasty celadons

Therefore, the National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage conducted a total of 19 days of exploration for seven times until 2016, starting with the first survey in 2012, based on the discoveries and reports of relics. As the Goryeo Dynasty celadons with the same models and shapes were found in the reported waters sites, a need was raised for the excavation of the sites judged to have high possibilities of concentrated burials of many relics.

Therefore, excavation was conducted from May to November 2018, in order to acquire the data to confirm the intensive burial sites of relics in the Nakwoldo waters and the remaining of a sunken ancient vessel. The survey site was 936,660㎡ in the eastern sea area of Nakwoldo Island.

The survey was conducted by visual exploration which checks relics of the sea floor with naked eyes and touches of  underwater divers and for the wider range of underwater exploration with no human’s visibility, by a multibeamecho sounder and a scanning sonar that produce three-dimensional images of the underwater. The dive survey and equipment exploration recorded the state of the underwater floor and the existence and locations of abnormalities of the underwater surface and it was confirmed that the sea floor seemed hard with the mixture of mud, sand and shells and the relatively flat seabed was scattered with waste fishing gears such as wires.

The retrieved relics were as many as 100 items including porcelain and pottery parts, but this report included 60 items which are the collection of the relatively complete forms. The listed relics are 49 celadons, 8 white porcelains and 3 potteries. As mentioned before, the relics were not concentrated in one site and scattered on the seabed. Therefore, it is difficult to identify the exact retrieving patterns and the accompanying relationships. However, in the case of celadon, similar types of relics from the same period were confirmed, which led to clues on their production sites. Among the retrieved celadons, there were 37 dishes, the largest number, 12 bowls. Except 1 celadon bowl with carved lotus petals design, all of them are low-grade celadon with no print and in the case of the dishes, which take up the largest number, in terms of the model and shape, they are confirmed to have similarities with those from the kilns of Shindeok-ri, Haenam.

It is difficult to estimate the production time of the celadon retrieved from Nakwoldo waters due to the lack of relics, but compared to the low-quality celadon from the kilns of Shindeok-ri and Jinsan-ri, Haenam in the southwest coast, with the reasons of 1) the degenerated type of flower-shaped dish, 2) the shaping with hard white fire clay, it is estimated that the production was later than the outputs from the kiln of Shindeok-ri, Haenam and in a sense that metallic celadon and celadon saucer-top bottle are not confirmed, the production timing is estimated to be around the 11th century, earlier than outputs from the kiln of Jinsan-ri, Haenam. 

The survey of Yeonggwang Nakwoldo Island waters did not fulfill its original intent of locating intensive burial sites of relics or an ancient vessel. However, it was able to secure data on the seabed state of Nakwoldo waters and the distribution pattern of the relics and it became an opportunity to search for reasons for the scattering of relics in the survey area. It is hoped that the records contained in the report will be used as research materials and enhance the understanding of researches that will be conducted in the vicinity waters of Nakwoldo and relics that will be further identified.