Tomb of the 25th king of Koryo recently unearthed
Recently, the Tomb of the 25th king of Koryo has been unearthed in Haeson-ri, Kaesong City.
Upholding the party’s intention to unearth more of the excellent cultural heritage of our nation, Archaeological Institute of the Academy of the Social Sciences, Korea National Heritage Preservation Agency under the National Authority for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and History Faculty of Songdo University of Education jointly conducted investigation and excavation of historic relics.
The newly unearthed mural tomb, recognized as the tomb of the king of Koryo Dynasty is about 1.2 kilometres southwest of the Haeson-ri village, Kaesong City.
The tomb is divided into 4 sections by 3 granite embankments piled up in stairs.
In the first section, the highest area, there are grave mound with stone parapet and a stone pillar post. In the second and third sections, which are lowered by one, there are stone statues each. The fourth section has a shrine site.
The size of the grave compartment made of elaborately processed stones is 365 centimetres in north and south, 300 centimetres in east and west and 235 centimetres high.
On the east wall, there is a hole for the “spirit” to go in and out. This can be found in some other marital tombs. On the floor some scraps of mural paintings painted on the ceiling and the wall were revealed.
In the tomb several relics were found, including parts of jade book which were written in praise of the virtue of the king or queen when the honorific titles were attached to him or her in the feudal period and the gold-plated metal goods.
Archaeology Society of the DPRK admitted that the tomb excavated in this period was a king’s tomb made in the 14th century in view of its architectural style, size and remains and the tomb could be considered to be a tomb of the 25th king of Koryo (Kyonghyo, 1236-1308) as more than 250 metres from the east of the tomb, there was the tomb of his wife, Princess Anphyong (excavation in 1979) and it was noted in several other documents including Sinjungdonggukyojisungnam that the tomb of the 25th king of Koryo was 12 -ri west of Kaesong.
The excavation of the Tomb of King Kyonghyo, the 25th king of Koryo, contributed in enriching the treasure house of national cultural heritage.
