Tomb No. 47, or the Royal Tomb of King Geumnim

There are five super large ancient tombs near the top. The largest among these is the Tomb No. 47 to the left.

This tomb is also called the Royal Tomb of King Geumnim. We do not know if King Geumnim was actually the name of a Dae Gaya king. But this tomb has been widely known as the Royal Tomb of King Geumnim since the 15th Century. Swords and weapons with extravagant golden dragon carvings were excavated from this tomb, leading historians to speculate that the tomb belonged to a king of Dae Gaya.

This royal tomb was built around the early 6th Century. The 3rd to mid-6th Centuries of Korea’s ancient history is also called the Three Kingdoms Period, namely, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Although Gaya existed independently on the Korean Peninsula, it was excluded from the center of Korean ancient history because Gaya was a confederacy of small states.

But we must pay attention to this supersized royal tomb of Dae Gaya, which became the central country of the latter Gaya confederacy. Dae Gaya probably established a similar degree of a centralized system as that of the three states in order to be able to construct this type of royal tomb.

That’s why some historians of Korea argue that this period should be called the "Four Kingdoms Period".

Now, let’s move on to the top to see Goryeong area.