The city of Jeongeup in Korea announced that a detailed survey under the National Heritage Administration’s conservation and maintenance project identified extensive Baekje-era (18 BCE to 660 CE) remains at the Eunsun-ri and Dogye-ri tomb groups, where large quantities of gold ornaments and Baekje-style pottery and ironware were excavated and were evaluated as core relics of the Baekje Middle Region Culture, according to Kyunghyang Shinmun.
The Eunsun-ri and Dogye-ri tomb groups cover about 2 square kilometers in the Yeongwon-myeon area and contain more than 270 tombs, including 56 horizontal stone chamber tombs nationally designated as Korean cultural heritage in 2018.
Baekje-style pottery - including three-legged vessels, bottle-shaped vessels, and large bowls - was identified, and artifacts such as gold beads, flower- and leaf-shaped decorations, gilt-bronze inlays, bronze bracelets, glass beads, and hairpins were found, according to Segye.
“The gold ornaments can be compared with the relics excavated from the Baekje Hanseong Period tombs and the Ungjin Period tombs, and their academic value is very high,” a city official said.
“This excavation reconfirmed that Jeongeup was the center of the Baekje Middle Region Culture,” said Jeongeup Mayor Lee Hak-soo. Excavation and survey work began in 2022 and proceeded in stages. Some tombs were damaged by tomb robbers, but remaining traces allowed a glimpse of the political status and social networks of local ruling powers at the time.
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