The Tomb of the General (Korean: Janggun-chong, Hangul: 장군총, Hanja: 將軍塚, Chinese: Jiangjun-zhong), also known as the Pyramid of the East, is thought to be the burial tomb of King Gwanggaeto or his son King Jangsu, both kings of the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo. [1]. [2].
The pyramid is located in Ji'an, Jilin province China, a former capital of Goguryeo. The pyramid was "rediscovered" in 1905. [3].
The base of the pyramid measures approximately 75 meters on each side, about half the size of the Egyptian pyramids and is eleven meters in height. [4]. [5]. The pyramid is composed of 1,100 dressed stone blocks. [6]. Large stones, each measure approximately 3 x 5 meters were placed around the base of the pyramid and can still be seen today. [7]. The monumental size of the tomb suggests that the Goguryeo elite were very powerful and the kingdom had the ability to mobilize large numbers of people for building projects. [8].
The pyramid-style tomb was typical of Goguryeo culture and was transmitted to the Korean kingdom of Baekje's burial practices. [9].
The body of the dead elite was placed on a "stone base, surrounded by stones, and then surmounted by a rectangular platform or pyramid of dressed stones." [10]. [11].
The design of the tombs incorporated entrances and passageways which facilitated grave robbery and so like most Goguryeo and Baekje tombs, the General's Tomb contains no archaeological artifacts. [12].
Four dolmen tombs were also placed on each corner of the pyramid. [13].
Kim Il-sung's reconstruction of the supposed tomb of Dangun is based on the Tomb of the General. [14].
|
||||||||||||||||||||