A decadelong investigation by Korea Heritage Service has pinpointed a key Silla Kingdom (57 BC-935 AD) palace site, the heritage agency said Thursday, revealing the latest findings on the ancient kingdom.
According to the new findings, Donggung, the palace home to the Silla crown prince, sat east of the pond called Wolji, not west as previously thought. The conclusion is supported by ample evidence gathered on-site in Gyeongju, the city in North Gyeongsang Province that served as Silla’s capital.
“The ground on the west side of the pond is slightly more elevated than the east side and remnants of structures on the west side stand a little taller. This all means the king occupied the west space, while his son (occupied) the east space,” KHS chief Choi Eung-chon said at a press conference Thursday.
The two separate spaces, Choi added, were disconnected and the east side had an independent pond. Drainage systems for the two spaces were different as well, according to officials from the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, the KHS-run think tank that led the verification processes.
“Drainage systems show not only the Silla lifestyle in general but the level of engineering skills at the time. That all helps us now to better understand the ancient kingdom that is central to Korean history,” a think tank official said.
Meanwhile, Choi also discussed artifacts excavated at Wolseong, the Silla capital fortress protecting the royal palace.
The items include the remains of a dog, a crystal necklace in a wooden lacquered container, a sword and fossils of shark teeth. The remains of another dog were found in October last year.
At the time, the agency had determined that the dog was part of a human sacrifice ritual for building the fortress, as human remains -- bones of men and women believed to be in their 50s -- were also found at the site.
The KHS said the dogs were found fairly close to each other, and laid symmetrically. All the artifacts unearthed appeared burnt and most of them are believed to date from the third century.
The crystal necklace found in the wooden container is in fair condition, according to Choi, who said it would help the agency better identify the kind of ceremonies that took place during the early years of the kingdom up to the fourth century. The fact the wooden container was lacquered suggested a luxurious sacrifice, given the rarity of lacquer at the time, he said.
siyoungchoi@heraldcorp.com
