The Characteristics of the Emergence Period of Wooden Chamber Tombs with Stone Mounds

The wooden chamber tomb with stone mound, representing the Silla period, is characterized by its high and large burial mounds. Therefore, the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds signifies the construction of such high and large burial mounds. However, in the early stages, the typical features of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds were not clearly observed, leading to various uncertainties. Currently, the earliest emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds is observed in Coffins No. 3 and 4 in Tomb No. 109 in Hwangnam-dong. However, unlike typical wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, the wooden chambers in this tomb overlap vertically, and the placement of protective stones around the perimeter of the mound is also indistinct. This paper aims to elucidate the characteristics of the emergence period of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, starting from these uncertainties. Four tombs dating before and after the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds were reviewed. As a result, it was observed that despite being tombs close to the highest social hierarchy of their time, they were later overlapped or destroyed by unrelated tombs from subsequent periods. This phenomenon was commonly observed in these tombs but not in wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds that appeared afterward. Additionally, these tombs lacked protective stones and exhibited relatively low burial mounds. Therefore, the reason for overlap or destruction by later tombs can be attributed to the low and flat burial mounds. In conclusion, contrary to previous assumptions, it can be inferred that immediately after the emergence of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds, the burial mounds were low and flat. Subsequently, they evolved to have higher burial mounds along with protective stones. Recently, instances have been confirmed where burial mounds without protective stones were overlapped vertically beneath tombs with protective stones, indicating the characteristics of the emergence period of wooden chamber tombs with stone mounds.