Bonghwang-dong Ruins Shell Shell Exhibition Hall (Gimhae Hoehyeon-ri Shell Shell)

Seashell tombs from the Samhan period located in Bonghwang Grand Park in Gimhae

hello. Gimhae Bonghwangdae Hoehyeon-ri shell mound (Historic Site No. 2, designated 1963121) is the first excavated remains of a shell tomb from the Samhan period in Korea.

Gimhae Hoehyeon-ri shell mound is located on a small gourd-shaped hill from east to west at the eastern foot of Bonghwang Grand Park in Gimhae. The scale is about 120m from east to west, 30m from north to south, and about 6m high. Most of the shell mounds are covered with bushes, except for the two central shell mounds exposed to natural rocks, and the east and south sides are overgrown with trees. The shells are thickly piled on the south and west sides centered on the top of the hill, whereas the east and north sides are thinly stacked.

Excavations in the past have been centered around the eastern and western summits of the gourd hill. After the first excavation was conducted in 1907 by Japanese historian Imanishi Ryu, partial excavations continued in 1914 (Ryuzo Torii), 1915 (黑板勝美), and 1917 (Ryuzo Torii), and in 1920 (Kosaku Hamada and Umeharasu). Eji, in 1934 and 1935, full-scale excavations were carried out by Kayamoto Morito.

Excavation in 1920 revealed the upper limit of the shell mound when the Chinese currency of the new dynasty founded by Wang Mang (王莽) was unearthed. In addition, the carbonized rice discovered together is becoming a very important material for researching Korean rice.

The tomb excavated by Morito Kayamoto over a period of one month from December 1934 is located near the eastern summit of this shell mound. As a result of the investigation, 1 dolmen, 5 sarcophagus, 3 coffin tombs, a pit dwelling, a furnace site, and a stone embankment were excavated. I did. In particular, among the three coffin tombs excavated, 2 pieces of jasper jasper, 2 pieces of fine bronze swords, and 8 pieces of bronze were unearthed from No. 3 coffin tombs.