Major Burial Chambers

From the third exhibition deck, you can see the chamber where the master of this tomb is sleeping. He was probably a king of Dae Gaya. Power to construct such an extravagant tomb and bury many people together indicates royal authority.

There are men buried above and below the master. They were probably guard warriors or close servants of the king. Curiously, the man buried above is lying down at an angle. People probably didn’t want his legs to touch the king’s head, thus lying down the corpse at such an angle.

Unfortunately, most of the funerary objects here were robbed, but there were still many different kinds of weapons, harnesses, and earthenware left. In particular, metal nails and clamps are important clues showing us that the wooden coffin was used only for the master. The master’s corpse was put in the wooden coffin and buried, and the wood rotted away as time passed while the nails and clamps connecting the coffin were left behind.

To the right of the master’s tomb was a space for goods he would use in his afterlife. It was a type of storage. Human skeleton pieces were also found in this space. He was probably the warehouse keeper guarding the goods.

Ancient people believed that after they die, their souls would live on. So the people of Dae Gaya constructed tombs in such way that the deceased king can live the same lifestyle in the afterlife. They believed that by doing so, the king under the tomb would extend his power to Dae Gaya, allowing them to flourish.