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Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites
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prehistoric cemeteries at Gochang, Hwasun,
and Gangwha contain many hundreds of examples
of dolmens, tombs from the 1st millennium
BCE constructed of large stone slabs. They
form part of the Megalithic culture, to be
found in many parts of the world, but nowhere
in such a concentrated form. Dolmens are megalithic
funerary monuments, which are numerous in
Asia, Europe, and North Africa. |
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The prehistoric
cemeteries at Gochang, Hwasun, and Gangwha contain many
hundreds of examples of dolmens, tombs from the 1st millennium
BCE constructed of large stone slabs.
They form part of the Megalithic culture, to be found
in many parts of the world, but nowhere in such a concentrated
form. Dolmens are megalithic funerary monuments, which
are numerous in Asia, Europe, and North Africa. Korea
has the greatest number of any country.
These are of great archaeological value for the information
that they provide about the prehistoric peoples who built
them and their social and political systems, beliefs and
rituals, arts and ceremonies, etc.
The Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa sites contain the highest
density and greatest variety of dolmens in Korea, and
indeed of any country. They also preserve important evidence
of how the stones were quarried, transported, and raised
and of how dolmen types changed over time in north-east
Asia. Category of property In terms of the categories
of cultural property set out in Article 1 of the 1972
World Heritage Convention, this is a group of monuments.
History and Description History Dolmens are manifestations
of the "Megalithic" culture that figured prominently
in Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures across the world
during the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE. This use of large
stones resulted from the emergence of new technologies
and led to the creation of stone alignments and ritual
circles such as Stonehenge and the Orkney monuments in
the United Kingdom, the chambered tombs of Brugh na B
inne in Ireland, and the stone circles and tombs of West
Africa.
They are a notable feature of the prehistory of East Asia
during the 1st millennium BCE. They are to be found in
western China (Tibet, Sichuan, Gansu) and the coastal
areas of the Yellow Sea basin (the Shandong peninsula,
north-western Kyushu). Dolmens appear to have arrived
in the Korean peninsula with the Bronze Age.
The Jungnim-ri group in Gochang are considered on the
basis of archaeological data to date from around the 7th
century BCE. Dolmen construction ceased here in the 3rd
century BCE.
The main structures of Changdeokgung Palace include the
gate, Donhwamun, the beautiful granite bridge Geumcheongyo,
and the Injeongjeon which served for official state functions.
The Seonjeongjeon was used for affairs of state between
the king and his ministers. The Daejojeon served as the
queen's guarders as well as the king's sleeping quarters,
and as educational quarters for the princes. The original
quarters were destroyed on several occasions, and during
the Japanese Occupation the existing quarters became somewhat
westernized. The current quarters are a combination of
both Korean and western styles.
The Hwasun dolmens are a little later, from the 6th-5th
centuries BCE.
There are insufficient data to permit dating of the Ganghwa
group, but they are thought to be earlier rather than
later.
Description Dolmens usually consist of two or more undressed
stone slabs supporting a huge capstone. It is generally
accepted that they were simple burial chambers, erected
over the bodies or bones of Neolithic and Bronze Age worthies.
Earth mounds (barrows) would have covered them, but these
would gradually disappear as a result of weathering and
animal action. However, it is also possible that they
were platforms on which corpses were exposed to permit
the process of excarnation to take place, leaving bones
for burial in collective or family tombs. Dolmens are
usually to be found in cemeteries on elevated sites. This
would permit them to be seen from the settlements of the
people who built them, which were usually on lower-lying
ground. In East Asia two main groups have been recognized,
classified according to their form: the table type (the
northern type) and the go-board type (the southern type).
The first is an above-ground construction: four stone
slabs are set up en edge to form a box or cist and a large
capstone is laid on top. In the second case, the burial
chamber is constructed below ground, with walls of slabs
or piled stones; the capstone is supported on a number
of stones laid on the ground. The so-called "capstone"
type is a variant of the go-board type in which the capstone
is laid directly on the buried slabs. |
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Gochang Dolmen Sites (8.38ha) |
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Jungnim-ri dolmens, the largest and most diversified
group, centre on the village of Maesan. Most
of them are located at altitudes of 15-50m
along the southern foot of the hills running
east-west. The capstones of the dolmens here
are 1-5.8m in length and can weigh 10-300t.
A total of 442 dolmens has been recorded,
of various types, based on the shape of the
capstone. |
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Hwasun Dolmen Sites (31ha) |
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those in the Gochang group, the Hwasun dolmens are
located on the slopes of low ranges of hills, along
the Jiseokgang river. Individual dolmens in this
area are less intact than those in Gochang. The
Hyosan-ri group is estimated to comprise 158 monuments
and the Daesin-ri group 129. In a number of cases
the stone outcrops from which the stones making
up the dolmens were quarried can be identified. |
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Ganghwa Dolmen Sites (12.27ha) |
These
sites are on the offshore island of Gangwha, once
again on mountain slopes. They tend to be higher
than those in the other sites and stylistically
early, notably those at Bugun-ri and Gocheon-ri.
Management and Protection Legal status The three
sites are designated Historic Sites or Local Monuments
under the provisions of the Protection of Cultural
Properties. Together with their buffer zones they
are further designated Cultural Property Protection
Zones under the same law.
As a result, any form of development or intervention
requires authorization and the carrying out of an
Environmental Impact Assessment. Any repair work
must be carried out by licensed specialists. The
sites must be open to the general public. The sites
are also designated Natural Environment Preservation
Zones under the National Land Use Management Law
and similar constraints apply. Management All the
properties belong to the Government of the Republic
of Korea. Overall responsibility for the preparation
and implementation of protection and conservation
policies at national level rests with the Cultural
Properties Administration. The National Research
Institute of Cultural Properties, an agency of the
Cultural Properties Administration, carries out
academic research, field survey, and excavation
(in association with university museums). Day-to-day
preservation and management is the responsibility
of the relevant local administrations (respectively
Jeollabuk-do Province, Gochang-gun County; Jeollanam-do
Province, Hwasun-gun County; and Incheon Metropolitan
City). Funding for repair work is provided by the
central government under the terms of the Protection
of Cultural Properties Act. Other sources of funding
are the revenues from admission fees to the sites
and private donations. Anticipated visitor figures
are 350,000 (Gochang), 300,000 (Hwasun), and 280,000
(Ganghwa). Management plans have been drawn up in
respect of the three properties. Their primary objective
is preservation of the original character of the
dolmen sites and their immediate environments. The
plans cover scientific research (survey, inventory,
selected excavation, palaeo-environmental studies),
protection of the environment (selective clearance
of vegetational cover, routing of visitors so as
to cause minimal impact on the natural environment,
purchase of neighbouring farmland to prevent incursions,
etc), systematic monitoring, and presentational
aspects (signage, access roads and parking, interpretation
facilities, increasing public awareness and participation
of local communities, organization of festivals
and other events on-site). Conservation and Authenticity
Conservation history Awareness of the cultural significance
of these dolmen groups is comparatively recent.
The first excavations did not take place until 1965,
at Gochang, when ground survey was first undertaken.
This was followed by an intensive programme of survey
and inventory in 1983 and 1990. Further excavations
took place in 1992, as part of several research
programmes in the 1990s, which also covered means
of conservation and land-use. The Hwasun group was
not discovered until 1996. Since they are located
in a forest reserve, their state of conservation
was good. The Academy of Korean Studies surveyed
the Ganghwa group in 1992. Authenticity As is the
case of the majority of prehistoric sites, the authenticity
of the dolmens making up this nomination is high.
Most of the monuments have been untouched since
they were built in antiquity, their present condition
being the result of natural processes of decay.
In a few cases they have been dismantled to some
extent by farmers, but the stones survive intact
and their location and original form can be identified
without difficulty. Plans are being discussed for
the re-erection of certain collapsed or dispersed
dolmens. This work will be based on meticulous scientific
research in order to establish their original configuration
and location. |
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at Haeinsa
Temple
