Daegu City Unearths 'Mokgan' Records to Reveal the Status of Historic Site 'Palgeosan Fortress'

The First Silla-Era Wooden Tablet in Daegu Region... Discovered During Detailed Excavation of Palgeosan Fortress

The site uncovered during the detailed excavation of Palgeosan Fortress.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] During the detailed excavation survey of Palgeosan Fortress, designated as Daegu City's 'Monument No. 6,' wooden tablets (mokgan) presumed to have been made in the early 7th century of the Silla period were unearthed for the first time in the Daegu area. Wooden tablets are artifacts used to record characters before the invention of paper, along with bamboo slips.

According to Daegu City on the 28th, within Palgeosan Fortress in Nogok-dong, Buk-gu, where the Guamdong Tumuli Cluster designated as a historic site in 2018 is located, seven stone retaining walls, two presumed water collection sites, and water outlets were discovered.

The stone retaining walls were constructed on the northern slope of the survey area, and some structures overlapped, suggesting differences in construction order or period between the walls. The water collection sites were built on the flat southern area; the first presumed water collection site was made of stone, and the second was made of wood.

This survey has been conducted by the Hwarang Cultural Heritage Research Institute since October 2020, following the surface survey in 2015 and trial excavation in 2018 by Buk-gu Office, with budget support from Daegu City to secure archaeological data for the maintenance and restoration of Palgeosan Fortress.

The presumed water collection site No. 2, where the wooden tablets were excavated, measures 7.8 meters in length, 4.5 meters in width, and approximately 3 meters in height, covering an area of about 35.1 square meters. Its water storage capacity is approximately 105,300 liters. First, the ground was dug with a north-south slope, and wooden structures were installed, then the space was backfilled with stones and clay.

So far, 11 wooden tablets have been excavated from Palgeosan Fortress. The National Gyeongju Cultural Heritage Research Institute, which is conducting preservation and reading of the wooden tablets, carried out infrared photography and basic investigations through two advisory meetings for reading. The investigation revealed that eight wooden tablets had wood cut out on one side to tie a string, and some tablets still showed traces of strings having been tied.

Considering that the contents of the wooden tablets are related to grains and that most local strongholds of Silla during the Three Kingdoms period were mountain fortresses, it is presumed that, like other excavation sites, this was a local military stronghold where supplies were concentrated.

In particular, this survey is highly significant as it is the first time Silla wooden tablets have been excavated from a site in Daegu. Cases of wooden tablets being excavated from local Silla sites include Gyeyang Fortress in Incheon, Iseong Fortress in Hanam, Gyeonggi Province, and Seongsan Fortress in Haman, Gyeongnam Province. Additionally, in November 2019, wooden tablets related to 6th-century Silla land were discovered in Sowol-ri, Gyeongsan, near Daegu.

Park Hee-jun, Director of the Daegu City Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, stated, "We hope that continuous research on the results of this Palgeosan Fortress excavation and the excavated wooden tablet materials will lay the foundation to clarify the nature and status of Palgeosan Fortress, a city monument."

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