Tomb of King Naemul, Gyeongju

Basic information

Designation

Historic Site No.188

Category

유적지

Era

신라 내물왕

Designated year

1969

Location

경주시, 경상북도— 경북 경주시 교동 14번지

Coordinates

35.833176, 129.218419

This is the royal tomb of King Naemul, the 17th king of Silla who reigned from 356 to 402. King Naemul was the second king from the Kim Clan to ascend to the throne. Since King Naemul, the Kim family has succeeded to the crown exclusively. He was the king who initiated the use of the title of the king, “Maripgan” in Korean, at that time and imported the advanced product based on diplomacy with China. To counter the invasion by the ally of Baekje and Japan, he asked for help from the Great King Gwanggaeto of Goguryeo and escaped invasion but paved the way for Goguryeo’s intervention in internal affairs. Nonetheless, his reign is believed to have brought about rapid development of national strength. This is a circle ground mound with height of 5.3m and diameter of 22 m, with a globe facing outward. The stone circle is placed along the bottom circumference. There are vestiges of the fence that surrounded the tombs, serving as evidence that the royal tomb had been guarded since the early times. Usually, a royal tomb from the Silla Period is a stone mound with a large stone coffin; note, however, that this one is small and is actually a stone chamber tomb with a tunnel entrance as implied by the presence of stone circle. There are others who claim that the tomb of King Naemul is not this one and is located somewhere else.

Location