Buyeo Royal Tombs

Site details

Located on the southern slope of Neungsan-ri Mountain in Buyeo, this burial site dates back to the Baekje period. The graves are arranged in two rows, with three tombs each in the front and back rows. An additional tomb is located at the highest point in the back, making a total of seven tombs. This site has long been recognized as a royal burial ground. During the Japanese occupation, tombs 1 through 6 were excavated, revealing detailed information about their internal structures, while the seventh tomb was discovered during restoration work in 1971. All of the tombs are round earthen mound tombs, and their internal structures are stone chamber tombs with corridors, known as corridor-style stone chamber tombs (hyeonghyeol-sik seoksilbun). The burial chambers were constructed underground, beneath the covering stone. The internal structures and materials can be broadly categorized into three types. First, Tomb No. 1 (Donghachong) is a single-chamber tomb consisting of a rectangular burial chamber and a passageway. The passageway is relatively long and flares outward, resembling a trumpet shape. The four walls and ceiling of the burial chamber are adorned with murals depicting the Four Guardian Deities, lotus patterns, and cloud motifs, which appear to be influenced by Goguryeo tomb murals. Tomb No. 2 (Junghachong) features a tunnel-style ceiling similar to that of King Muryeong’s tomb and is believed to be the earliest constructed among them. Tombs No. 3 (Seohachong) and No. 4 (Seosangchong) have flat ceilings formed by tilting stones halfway and then covering them with flagstones. These tombs also have short passageways. This architectural style is common in the Buyeo region and seems to have remained popular until the end of the period. The tombs at Neungsan-ri were looted early on, and only a few artifacts were recovered, including fragments of skulls, lacquered wooden coffin pieces, gilded bronze openwork ornaments, and floral-shaped gilt-bronze fittings. Excavations to the west of the tombs uncovered a temple site, where significant artifacts such as the Baekje Gilt-Bronze Incense Burner and the Baekje King Chang’s inscribed stone sarira reliquary were found. These discoveries further confirmed that the Neungsan-ri tombs are part of a royal burial site.