Types and Implications of Tumuli in the Eastern Middle Nakdong River Basin

This paper is written with the aim of examining the spatiotemporal changes through the establishment of types of construction techniques targeting the tumuli of six sites located in the middle Nakdong River basin, and understanding their significance. The classification of types through the combination of various construction forms found in tumuli was deemed meaningless, indicating that diverse construction techniques were adaptively applied from a cultural pool containing various construction technologies at that time. Through the organization of the unit of techniques raising the mound level, the classification yielded three types for review. The results revealed patterns where the edges of the tumuli change from being formed after excavation and sealing to being formed before excavation and sealing. This shift was initially observed in tumuli associated with the early Silla period. However, considering the construction of fortifications and other structures in Silla provinces, it's more reasonable to attribute the observed changes in earthen processes to systemic differences rather than technological advancements. The former represents localized earthen processes, while the latter is presumed to have been influenced by the earthen processes of Gyeongju's wooden chamber tumuli. Since ancient civil engineering skills were transmitted through apprenticeships, the pace of change would be slow, but the introduction of outside technologies would make a big difference. Although it is difficult to attribute the change in the type of construction unit to the development of construction technology, the Pro-Silla tumuli show a similar earthen layer configuration to the wooden chamber tumuli with stone mounds from the middle of the 5th century while other tumuli show the composition of the earthen layer similar to that of the wooden chamber tumuli with stone mounds at the end of the Gochong (高塚, huge tumuli) period. This change in the construction process seems to be in line with the centralization of Silla.