Remains from human sacrifices unearthed at Wolseong Palace in Gyeongju

Posted on : 2021-09-08 18:24 KST Modified on : 2021-09-08 18:24 KST
More bodies found along the palace’s walls point to ritual human sacrifice during the Silla Dynasty
Remains of a woman recently discovered during additional surveys of Wolseong Palace’s western wall, in Gyeongju, are pictured. The two circles highlight a necklace and a bracelet. An earthen pot can be seen on the left. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
Remains of a woman recently discovered during additional surveys of Wolseong Palace’s western wall, in Gyeongju, are pictured. The two circles highlight a necklace and a bracelet. An earthen pot can be seen on the left. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)

More human bones dating to the Silla Dynasty have been found in the walls of Wolseong Palace in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which served as Silla’s royal palace compound for a millennium.

In 2017, the bones of a young man and woman — bearing evidence of having been used as human sacrifices in Silla times — were excavated along with bear bones from the western wall of Wolseong Palace. Recently, more animal bones and the remains of a young woman also used as a sacrifice were discovered, the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced Tuesday.

The human bones unearthed from Wolseong Palace’s western walls are the only surviving evidence of rituals involving ancient Korean palace walls. Interestingly, no other examples of humans being sacrificed during wall construction have been found at other archaeological sites in Korea or Japan.

The wall running through the remains in the center is Wolseong Palace’s western wall. An endeavor to widen the wall can be seen, with stones stacked on one side, and covered in a layer of mud on the other. Two large pieces of paper on the basal bed below it show where remains of a woman were recently found, as well as the two remains found in 2017. (Roh Hyung-suk/The Hankyoreh)
The wall running through the remains in the center is Wolseong Palace’s western wall. An endeavor to widen the wall can be seen, with stones stacked on one side, and covered in a layer of mud on the other. Two large pieces of paper on the basal bed below it show where remains of a woman were recently found, as well as the two remains found in 2017. (Roh Hyung-suk/The Hankyoreh)

The woman was apparently wearing luxurious ornaments, including bracelets and a necklace of comma-shaped glass beads, known as gogok. She was quite small, with a height of around 135 centimeters (4 feet, 5 inches).

The animal bones are presumed to have come from large mammals, such as horses and cows, with ribs mostly selected for the sacrifice. An earthen vase that was presumably used for drinking during the ritual was also found among the human bones.

The bones of more than 20 people of unknown provenance were found in a test dig in 1985 and a main dig in 1990 about 10 meters to the northwest of the remains of the human sacrifice.

Where human remains of human sacrifice were discovered. Near the western gate of Wolseong Palace’s western wall. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
Where human remains of human sacrifice were discovered. Near the western gate of Wolseong Palace’s western wall. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)

“Compared to our recent work on the construction of Wolseong, the human bones found near the walls in the past appear to have been buried in connection with the wall construction. We were able to find evidence that a considerable number of people and animals were sacrificed there,” a researcher from the institute said.

This indicates that human sacrifices took place after the palace’s foundation had been laid, but before the walls were erected with the hope that the palace would stand strong.

The marked area is where human remains have recently been discovered. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)
The marked area is where human remains have recently been discovered. (provided by the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage)

Along with finding evidence of human sacrifice, the researchers have also published the first information about the era and method of the construction of Wolseong’s walls.

Researchers learned that work on the walls began in the early to mid-fourth century CE and concluded 50-70 years later, in the early fifth century. That’s more than 250 years later than the second century time frame cited in historical records such as “Samguk sagi” (History of the Three Kingdoms).

By Roh Hyung-suk, culture correspondent

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