Geumgwanchong (Gold Crown Tomb), Gyeongju

About this place

This tumulus takes its name from the Silla gold crown (geumgwan) discovered within it. Accidentally uncovered during house construction work in September 1921, the tomb had already been damaged and was not formally excavated, so neither the structure nor the precise circumstances of the artefacts are fully known. Among the finds were a gold crown, personal ornaments, weapons, and vessels; jade beads alone numbered over 30,000. The original mound was about 50 m in diameter and 13 m high, of the stone-mound tomb type unique to Silla, believed to have contained an inner wooden chamber (mokgak) housing a lacquered wooden coffin. Based on this structure and evidence of Buddhist influence, the tomb is estimated to have been built around the 6th century in the reign of King Jijeung, before the unification of the Three Kingdoms.