Next on our historic tour of Gyeongju was a stop at Cheonmachong. At first glance it looked like the city of Gyeongju had a problem with overly ambitious groundhogs, only to find out these grassy mounds were burial places for kings dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries.As expected, the grounds were immaculate and inviting, complete with ponds, flowering trees and inviting walkways leading you from one grave site to another.
There are a total of 23 burial mounds at this site with a couple that are open for viewing! I entered the Heavenly Horse Tomb and, needless to say, it was a little eerie. Excavation efforts in the 1970s allow visitors to see the ancient construction and experience the enormity of these burial mounds first hand, each tomb having a wood-lined chamber running east to west that was then covered in a mound of boulders and earth.
Inside is a lacquered wooden coffin which had burial goods placed around it. Over 11,500 artifacts were recovered from this tomb alone including paintings, jewelery, horse saddles, weaponry and this gold crown; an obvious indication of the lavish royal lifestyle during the Silla era.
One can definitely feel the ancient Korean culture of 1,500 years ago when visiting the burial mounds at Cheonmachong.
