Discovery of the Largest Wooden Coffin Tomb Cluster in South Korea at the 2nd Anmin Tunnel, Jinhae-gu, Changwon

897 Wooden Coffin Tombs and Burial Mounds from the Three Kingdoms and Joseon Periods, Over 3,000 Artifacts Unearthed

Artifacts from the Three Kingdoms and Joseon periods discovered at the construction site of the 2nd Anmin Tunnel (Seokdong Tunnel) in Jinhae-gu, Changwon. (Photo by Lee Dal-gon, People Power Party)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Choi Hyun-joo] Following the discovery of the largest wooden coffin tomb cluster in Korea at the construction site of the 2nd Anmin Tunnel in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, Gyeongnam, Lee Dal-gon, a member of the People Power Party (Changwon Jinhae), urged the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Busan Regional Construction and Management Administration to establish countermeasures for construction delays, mentioning that additional excavations may proceed depending on detailed verification work.

According to Representative Lee, the site revealed 756 wooden coffin tombs, 10 stone coffin tombs, 29 stone chamber tombs, 11 jar coffin tombs, and pit graves from the Three Kingdoms period, and a total of 897 various relics including tombs from the Joseon Dynasty are currently under investigation.

The excavated artifacts were mainly confirmed as tombs from the Three Kingdoms period, with approximately 3,000 items recovered, including 2,007 pieces of pottery, 1,204 ironware items, and 36 other artifacts.

Representative Lee considers the excavation results to represent the largest wooden coffin tomb cluster in the country, judging it to be a complex site similar to the Jinhae Seokdong complex site already investigated, where burial sites and residential sites coexist.

The 2nd Anmin Tunnel project began in 2012 and has currently reached 40% completion, with an expected completion date in 2023; however, due to this cultural heritage excavation, the construction period is predicted to be extended by more than one year.

Representative Lee stated, “The tunnel cultural heritage excavation will proceed for 487 days starting from March,” and added, “Additional excavations may be conducted depending on the detailed verification of relics and artifacts, so countermeasures for construction delays must be expedited.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.