Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 19. (Budapest, 2000)

Ildikó NAGY: Copies of Murals from Anak Tomb No. 3 in the Korean Collection of the Ferenc Hopp Museum of Eastern Asiatic Arts

inhabited by the Puyo clan of the Yeemek Tungus tribes who moved southwards from the territory of Manchuria, from the northern side of the River Amnok (Chinese Yalu) to River Han dividing the Korean Peninsula almost into halves. The capital was moved from Thonggu to P'yongyang in 427 and this kingdom ruled the northern part of Korea till 668 when it was annected by the South-Eastern Kingdom Silla. Koguryo produced lasting cultural values not only in the murals of the old tombs but in several fortifications, royal palaces, etc. As the old tombs and the objects found in them constitute the backbone of research on the Three Kingdom Period, according to archaeological concept this period is called Gobun side

10 'The Era of the Old Tombs' in the Korean specialist literature. EARLY BURIAL CUSTOMS ON THE KOREAN PENINSULA The burial customs of the inhabitants of the Korean Peninsula have changed with the ages. Korean archaeologists know about different burial forms from the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age onwards. There existed more than half a dozen burial forms, e.g. tombs closer to the surface (Kor. dotnol-mudom), burial in urns placed in a cavity deeper in the ground (Kor. doldotnolmudom). The people inhabiting the Korean Peninsula in the 3

rd-4

th centuries A.D. turned to constructing tombs with stone chambers (Kor. dolbang-mudom) on the influence of Chinese funerary customs. Two coffins were placed in the tomb chamber or chambers, so it is supposed that a married couple was buried in a common tomb. During the Koguryo Dynasty there were two types of tombs erected for noblemen and royal family members. The tombs under stone tumuli (e.g. Changgun-ch ong) and the ones under earthen tumuli had the same structure beneath the ground but later under Chinese influence earthen tumuli replaced stone ones. The tombs with earthen tumuli were first built in the 2

nd half of the 3

rd century and 1

st half of the 4

th century, and after 427 A.D. when P'yongyang had become the capital of Koguryo they constituted the characteristic type among Koguryo tombs. The walls and ceilings of the tomb chambers were covered with murals. For building tomb chambers several building materials of natural origin, e.g. smaller rubble stones or bigger stone slabs were used. The walls of the tomb chambers were covered with plaster in most cases, but even such tombs have been investigated up to now in which the huge stone blocks and slabs were rubbed thoroughly and left unplastered. In the latter case the murals were painted directly onto the rubbed surface of the wall. The entrance to the tomb chamber(s) usually faces south. When investigating the tombs with murals according to the changes in the form of the antechamber, we can differentiate the following types: a) wing chambers or niches opening from the antechamber, e.g. Tongsu's Tomb (Kor. Tongsu-myö), the tomb P 'yongyang-yokjon (Kor. P 'yongyang yokjon Pyakhwa-bun), the Lotus Flower's Tomb (Kor. Yonhwa-ch'ong) etc.; b) the antechamber being much wider than the main chamber e.g. Ch'onwangjishin-ch'ong and Yonggang daech'ong; c) the size of the elongated or quadratic antechamber equalling that of the main chamber, e.g. the Tomb of the Wrestlers (Kor. Kakjo-ch'ong), the Tomb of the Dancers (Kor. Muyong-ch 'ong) etc. In the case of the most important tombs the tomb chambers were covered with insulation consisting of three layers, i.e. stone, clay, charcoal or ash. The earthen tumuli (Kor. bongt 'o-mudom)

x were erected over them in rectangular or roundish Ground-Plan in the shape of pyramids. These medium-sized hillocks of typical