Artifacts from Royal Palace

The Wanggung-ri site has produced several artifacts that experts believe represent tangible evidence that the site was once occupied by a royal palace of Baekje.

Such findings include ceramic roof tiles stamped with inscriptions. The ceramic roof tile became a very important building material in Korea from the time of its introduction around the first century. These roof tiles with stamped inscriptions often provide important clues for researchers studying the historic building or archaeological site in which they were found.

The fragment of ceramic roof tile exhibited here is one such item, as it bears valuable information regarding the site from which it was unearthed. The roof tile is stamped with an inscription of two Chinese characters, "subu", which literally means "head administrative office". Historically, the term was used to refer to the capital city of a state or the royal palace situated within it.

Now let's look at the ceramic water pipes. The Wanggung-ri site has produced a number of ceramic pipes used to convey water around the palace once located there. The pipes were made of fine-grained light gray clay, and nicely tapered at one end so that they could be connected together easily. The pipes are generally regarded as clear evidence that the palace at the Wanggung-ri site operated a highly-developed water supply system.