Traces of Geumgwan-gaya Kingdom discovered again

 

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경상남도 김해시 봉황동 240

 

 

Archaeologists have discovered again the traces of Bonghwangtoseong Fortress that protected the royal palace or royal castle during the Geumgwan-gaya era in Gimhae, Gyeongsangnamdo Province. Gimhae is the place where the capital of the kingdom that survived from 42 AD to 532, was located. 

 

Excavation spot

 

The city of Gimhae said on the 3rd that it expects to materialize the size and structure of the unconfirmed Bonghwangtoseong Fortress through this excavation survey conducted by the Hanwha Research Institute of Cultural Properties.

 

This excavation was conducted on the south side of the Archaeological Site in Bonghwang-dong, historic remains of shell mounds formed about 2,000 years ago when the Geumgwangaya Kingdom was born. 

 

Rampart from the underground

 

Archaeologists deduced through this excavation that the living quarters of the common people, nobles, and royal areas were protected by the oval-shaped earthen fortress. 

 

The ramparts revealed in this survey were 13.1m wide at the bottom and 8.6m at the top, and based on the current state, 0.9m high for the inner wall and 1.7m for the outer wall.

 

On the layer (2.4m above sea level) that was artificially pledged with charcoal and shells, a strong viscous reddish-brown clay, earthen shell, and calcined soil were mixed in layers along the natural slope to create the castle's earthen wall. The outer walls of the house were covered with stones, and the top was covered with earth.

Also on the ground floor carbonized wooden pillars with a diameter of 6 to 10 cm and two pottery pots that were erected upright and buried in the ground were investigated, and it is believed that it is related to the rituals of the construction of the fortress.

 

Stone construction facilities to protect the outer walls

 

The walls were built with soil, while the inner and outer walls were covered with stones to protect them. The structures are the same as those of the previously identified Bonghwangtoseong Fortress.

 

Bonghwangtoseong Fortress, which has not yet revealed its exact size and distribution range, was partially investigated in the northeast section in 2003, and part of its outer wall was confirmed in the northeast section in 2014.

 

Earthenware found in the center of the wall

 

In addition, in the survey conducted earlier this year, the exterior wall facilities were also confirmed at the site of the former Bonghwang Elementary School, which is the southwest section.

 

As pottery from the 4th to 5th centuries has found on the walls, archaeologists believe that the fortress was built during the Geumgwangaya period.

 

Cross section of the wall

 

金官伽倻時代鳳凰土城の一部の痕跡も確認

 

慶南金海市の依頼で、韓和文物研究員が鳳凰洞遺跡南支店一部区間を発掘した結果、城壁跡が明らかになった。

 

土城の盛土部から4〜5世紀代の土器が調査されることによって金官伽倻土城で再判断された。

今回の調査区間で確認された城壁は、底幅が13.1m、上部の幅が8.6mであり、残りの城壁の高さは内壁部0.9m、外壁部1.7m程度である。外壁の石15段程度で覆われており、内壁は石が5段程度残っている。

 

木炭と貝殻などで人為的に念を押して大地を造成した層（海抜2.4m）上に粘性が強い赤褐色粘土と混土貝殻、焼成土などの汚れを混ぜて自然斜面に沿って幾重にも重ね城の盛土部を作成した後内壁と外壁に石覆い、その上に土に覆われた。 また、大地の組成層で 直径6〜10cm内外の炭化された木材の柱とすぐ立て地に波付着した土器の壺2点の調査されたが大地造成ないし性築造時の礼儀行為と関連があるものと推定される。

 

このような構造は、従来の他の区間土城発掘調査の結果と一致する。