**Skeleton Remains and Gilt-Bronze Crown Unearthed in Hwangnam-dong Tomb**
**Cheomseongdae Media Art and Night Opening of Guhwangdong Wonji Site**
[Herald Economics = Reporter Kim Hyun-kyung] The skeletal remains and a gilt-bronze crown excavated from a Silla-era general’s tomb will be unveiled to the public for the first time at the end of this month.
As part of the restoration project for the core relics of the Silla royal capital, the Cultural Heritage Administration discovered a previously built wooden burial chamber (mokgwakmyo) under the stone-heap sarcophagus mound No. 120 in Hwangnam-dong, Gyeongju. They uncovered armor and helmets for both humans and horses, parts of a gilt-bronze crown, and the skeletal remains of a male general believed to be the tomb owner, as well as possibly sacrificially buried attendants.
Dubbed the “Hwangnam-dong No. 1 Wooden Burial Chamber,” the excavation site will be open to the public and APEC visitors for the first time from October 27 to November 1 in time for the “2025 APEC Summit.” Artifacts will be displayed during that period at the Silla Wolsong Research Center (Sungmoon University) of the Gyeongju National Institute of Cultural Heritage.
This wooden burial chamber exemplifies the transitional shift in Silla burial customs from wooden chambers to stone-heap sarcophagus mounds. Notably, parts of what appears to be the oldest gilt-bronze crown in Silla were found inside the chamber, potentially opening new avenues for research into the metalcraft of Silla’s ruling class.
The armor and helmets for both humans and horses were found well-preserved. This horse armor, only the second found in Silla mounds after the C10 Tomb in Gyeongju’s Cheongsaem District, provides evidence of heavy cavalry’s existence and illustrates the military might and status of Silla’s elite around the 5th century.
The wooden burial chamber consists of a main and auxiliary chamber. The main chamber contained the skeletal remains of the tomb owner, adorned with a large sword, while the auxiliary chamber contained diverse funerary artifacts and one attendant’s skeletal remains. The tomb owner, a male Silla general, is believed to have been in his early 30s based on dental analysis, and the attendant was likely a close serving aide.
Additionally, on October 20 at 6:30 PM, the Cultural Heritage Administration and Gyeongju City will hold a media façade lighting ceremony at Cheomseongdae to introduce a new level of nighttime wall images blending astronomy history with Silla’s golden culture, which will be displayed until the end of the APEC Summit on November 1.
Using projection mapping technology, the entire exterior of Cheomseongdae will serve as a grand stage, showcasing a 7-minute presentation titled “Hour of Stars,” highlighting Cheomseongdae’s historical significance and Silla’s magnificent cultural heritage, and “Golden Country,” reflecting the illustrious culture of Silla.
Another key site of Silla, the “Guhwangdong Wonji Site,” has been transformed into a brilliant “Garden of Light” with nightscape lighting for the APEC Summit.
The Cultural Heritage Administration expressed hopes to leverage various Korean national heritage exhibitions during the “2025 APEC Summit” in Gyeongju to promote the value of Korea’s national heritage globally. They pledged to continue thorough on-site inspections to ensure a pleasant viewing environment, systematic preservation, and management, and to prevent potential issues in the process.