Confirmation of Baekje Stone Chamber Cluster at Juknaeri Site, Suncheon

Suncheon City to Hold On-site Briefing Session on the 1st of Next Month

6th-7th Century Baekje Stone Chamber, High Academic Value

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that it will hold an on-site briefing session to share the results of the excavation survey of the Suncheon Juknaeri site on the 1st of next month.

The Juknaeri site attracted academic attention as cultural layers from the Paleolithic Age, Bronze Age, and Three Kingdoms Period were confirmed during a rescue excavation survey conducted in 1996 due to road expansion and paving work between Suncheon and Gurye. Recognizing its academic importance, an area of 21,711㎡ around the site was designated as a Jeollanam-do monument in 1999.

Inside the stone chamber of Juknaeri Tomb No. 12 ［Photo provided by Suncheon City］

This excavation survey was conducted by Suncheon City with budget support from Jeollanam-do for academic research on the Mahan cultural zone, under the Special Act on the Maintenance of Historical and Cultural Areas. It aimed to clarify the nature and patterns of political forces in the Suncheon area during the Three Kingdoms Period.

The survey confirmed a cluster of stone chamber tombs that can serve as very important data related to the expansion of Baekje forces around the 6th to 7th centuries.

The burial mound group surveyed is distributed along the ridge on the southern slope of Seongamsan Mountain in Juknaeri, Hwangjeon-myeon, Suncheon City. The five stone chambers identified show some differences from the central Baekje stone chambers, drawing attention.

Additionally, it was found that similar burial mounds are distributed along the mountain slope in the surrounding area.

In particular, Tomb No. 13, investigated this time, is significant as the first case in the eastern region of Jeollanam-do where a horizontal stone chamber with a neatly laid interior burial chamber and a door frame structure including doorposts and threshold stones was confirmed without looting or damage.

From the burial chamber, artifacts such as gold earrings, typical Baekje-style pottery, iron arrowheads, iron sickles, iron hand knives, and iron nails were excavated.

A representative from the Nara Cultural Research Foundation, which conducted the survey, evaluated, "This survey has achieved great academic success by providing very important data for studying Baekje’s expansion along the Seomjin River toward the southern coast."

A Suncheon City official stated, "Based on the results of this survey, we plan to conduct a detailed surface survey of the Juknaeri site area, where numerous Three Kingdoms Period burial mounds are distributed," and added, "We will also carry out academic investigations of Seongamsanseong Fortress located at the northern mountain summit in connection with the burial mound group, continuously uncovering historical and academic achievements related to the Suncheon area during the Three Kingdoms Period."

Meanwhile, the on-site briefing session for the Suncheon Juknaeri site is scheduled to take place at 2 p.m. on the 1st of next month at the excavation site located at San 41, Juknaeri, Hwangjeon-myeon, Suncheon City. Researchers in related fields as well as the general public interested in the site are welcome to attend and receive detailed explanations about the excavation from the excavation agency.

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