Gochang-gun Selected for 'Emergency Excavation of Buried Cultural Heritage Contest Project'...The Only One in Jeonbuk

[Gochang=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil] On the 17th, Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk, secured 80 million KRW in national funding as Bongdeok Tomb in Bongdeok-ri, Asan-myeon, Gochang-gun was selected for the ‘2023 Emergency Excavation Survey of Buried Cultural Heritage Public Contest Project.’

According to the county on the 22nd, the Cultural Heritage Administration’s Emergency Excavation Survey Public Contest Project for Buried Cultural Heritage provides full national funding to local governments for emergency excavation survey expenses to protect buried cultural heritage sites.

Among 21 sites from 9 cities and provinces that applied, 8 sites from 5 cities and provinces were selected, with Gochang-gun being the only one selected in Jeollabuk-do.

Gochang Bongdeok-ri Bongdeok Tombs
[Photo by Gochang-gun]

The ‘Gochang Bongdeok-ri Bongdeok Tomb’ was applied for based on a preliminary survey of the surrounding area after a large stone presumed to be the tomb’s lid stone and pottery fragments were exposed during plowing for peanut cultivation last year, and the cultivator reported it to Gochang-gun.

The survey target area is located between the historic site ‘Gochang Bongdeok-ri Burial Mounds’ and the provincial monument ‘Gochang Mandong Site,’ and is the area with the highest density of tombs and house sites from the Mahan to Baekje periods, including the ‘Gochang Bongdeok Site’ and ‘Gochang Dosan-ri Site.’

In other words, the ‘Gochang Bongdeok-ri Bongdeok Tomb’ is a newly discovered non-designated cultural heritage site and is considered an important site that continues the lineage of ‘Gochang Mandong Site’ (provincial monument), ‘Gochang Bongdeok-ri Burial Mounds’ (historic site), and ‘Gochang Yejiri Tombs.’

Therefore, it is presumed to be a tomb that well shows the transition process from Mahan to Baekje, and there is a need to secure basic data and prevent further damage to the site through emergency excavation surveys to clarify the range and characteristics of the site.

This emergency excavation is expected to provide basic data and important information for understanding ancient history in the Honam region by clarifying the characteristics of Mahan to Baekje period tombs in the Gochang area and confirming the link in the transition from Mahan to Baekje.

Oh Misook, director of the county’s Culture and Arts Division, said, “Through a precise excavation survey of the Gochang Bongdeok-ri Bongdeok Tomb, we will clarify the changes and characteristics of tombs from the Mahan to Baekje periods in the Gochang area, and based on the survey results, we plan to prepare preservation and management plans for the site in connection with the future Mahan Historical and Cultural Zone maintenance plan.”

Gochang=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil baekok@asiae.co.kr