From dolmens to the tomb of King Gongmin — stone-mound, stone-mound wooden-chamber, stone-chamber and brick tombs, and how burial changed by kingdom and age
J. Patrick Fischer · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
| Tomb | Period · state | Type | Features |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dolmens | Bronze Age | Table / go-board type | Elite graves, rise of classes; Ganghwa, Gochang, Hwasun on World Heritage list |
| Daeseong-dong tombs, Gimhae | Geumgwan Gaya, 3rd–5th c. | Wooden-chamber pit tomb | Iron ingots, armour, northern and Wa goods; Gaya Tumuli WHS |
| Seokchon-dong tombs, Seoul | Hanseong Baekje, 3rd–4th c. | Stepped stone-mound tomb | Same as Goguryeo → founders of Goguryeo stock |
| General’s Tomb | Goguryeo, c. 5th c. (Ji’an) | Stepped stone-mound tomb | Seven granite tiers; held to be King Jangsu’s |
| Hwangnam Daechong | Silla, 5th c. | Stone-mound wooden-chamber (twin) | Largest in Silla; gold crown, Western glass |
| Cheonmachong | Silla, late 5th – early 6th c. | Stone-mound wooden-chamber | Heavenly Horse saddle flap, gold crown; hard to rob, no murals |
| Jisan-dong tombs, Goryeong | Daegaya, 5th–6th c. | Pit-style stone-cist tomb | Sacrificial burial in No. 44; gilt-bronze crown |
| Tomb of King Muryeong | Baekje (Ungjin), 525 | Brick tomb | Liang influence; epitaph names the owner |
| Gangseo Great Tomb | Goguryeo, late 6th – early 7th c. | Stone-chamber tomb with passage | Four Guardians murals; easily robbed |
| Tomb of Kim Yu-sin | Unified Silla | Stone-chamber tomb (earth mound) | Zodiac retaining stones → Gwaereung, Joseon royal tombs |
| Tombs of Princesses Jeonghye and Jeonghyo | Balhae, 780 · 792 | Stone chamber (corbelled lantern ceiling) · brick | Jeonghye in Goguryeo style, Jeonghyo in Tang style |
| Tombs of King Gongmin | Goryeo, 1365–1374 (Kaesong) | Twin royal tombs | Zodiac stones, civil and military statues → model for Joseon |
Bronze came into use around 2000–1500 BCE. Rice farming began, private property and classes emerged, and chieftains came to rule.
Tombs of the Geumgwan Gaya elite. Their wooden-chamber burials held iron ingots, armour and goods from the northern steppe and Wa.
Royal-scale tombs of Hanseong-period Baekje. Their stepped stone-mound tombs, like those of Goguryeo, show that Baekje’s founders came from Goguryeo stock.
A stepped stone-mound tomb at Gungnae, the Goguryeo capital (Ji’an, Jilin). Built of seven tiers of dressed granite, it is widely held to be the tomb of King Jangsu.
Silla’s largest tomb, a double stone-mound wooden-chamber tomb. The northern mound held a gold crown, the southern one glass vessels from the West.
A Silla stone-mound wooden-chamber tomb excavated in 1973. It yielded a gold crown and the Heavenly Horse painting on a birch-bark saddle flap.
Tombs of the kings and elite of Daegaya. Tomb No. 44 is a sacrificial burial holding dozens of people.
King Muryeong, who died in 523, was buried in a brick tomb at Songsan-ri, Gongju, in 525; it was found intact in 1971.
A late Goguryeo stone-chamber tomb with a passage, its four walls painted with the Four Guardian Deities.
A Unified Silla tomb said to be Kim Yu-sin’s. Its retaining stones are carved with the twelve zodiac guardians in civilian dress holding weapons.
Tombs of King Mun’s daughters Jeonghye (buried 780) and Jeonghyo (buried 792), which show Goguryeo and Tang culture side by side.
Twin tombs of King Gongmin and Princess Noguk. Gongmin himself built his queen’s tomb, and its zodiac retaining stones and civil and military statues became the model for Joseon royal tombs.
Twentieth king of Goguryeo, who moved the capital to Pyongyang and took the Han River basin
Twenty-fifth king of Baekje, who sent royal kin to the 22 damno districts and revived the kingdom
Silla general of Geumgwan Gaya royal descent who defeated Gyebaek and led the unification wars
King Mun's second daughter, buried in a stone-chamber tomb in the Liudingshan cemetery
King Mun's fourth daughter, buried in a brick tomb with figure murals in the Longtoushan cemetery
Balhae's third king, who used the era name Daeheung, made peace with Tang, set up the Three Departments and Six Ministries, moved the capital to Sanggyeong and opened the Silla Road
Thirty-first king of Goryeo, who led anti-Yuan reforms, recovered the Ssangseong Commandery and backed Sin Don’s reforms