The Tomb of the General (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: Janggun-chong,

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The l ...

: 장군총,

Traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays ...

: 將軍冢), is an ancient Korean pyramid, also known as the Pyramid of the East. The pyramid is thought to be the burial tomb of King Gwanggaeto or his son

King Jangsu Jangsu of Goguryeo (394–491, r. 413–491) was the 20th monarch of Goguryeo, the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was born in 394 as the eldest son of Gwanggaeto. He became the crown prince in 408, and upon his father's death ...

, both former Kings of

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled mos ...

. The pyramid is located in what was formerly known as Gungnae, one of the capitals of Goguryeo, currently

Ji'an, Jilin Ji'an (; formerly ) is a county-level city in the southwestern part of Jilin province, People's Republic of China. It is administered by the prefecture-level city of Tonghua and is the southernmost county-level division in the province. Ji'an ha ...

province, China. The pyramid was "rediscovered" in 1905. The base of the pyramid measures approximately 75 meters on each side, about half the size of the

Egyptian pyramids The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures located in Egypt. Sources cite at least 118 identified "Egyptian" pyramids. Approximately 80 pyramids were built within the Kingdom of Kush, now located in the modern country of Sudan. Of ...

and is eleven meters in height. The pyramid is composed of 1,100 dressed stone blocks. Large stones, each measure approximately 3 × 5 meters were placed around the base of the pyramid and can still be seen today. The monumental size of the tomb is a testament to the power of the Goguryeo elite and the ability of this ancient kingdom to mobilize large numbers of people for building projects. The pyramid-style tomb was typical of Goguryeo culture and was transmitted to the kingdom of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder J ...

's burial practices. The body of the dead elite was placed on a "stone base, surrounded by stones, and then surmounted by a rectangular platform or pyramid of dressed stones." The design of the tombs incorporated entrances and passageways which facilitated grave robbery so, like most Goguryeo and Baekje tombs, the General's Tomb contains no archaeological artifacts. Four

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

tombs were also placed on each corner of the pyramid.

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

's reconstruction of the supposed tomb of Dangun is based on the Tomb of the General.

References

{{coord missing, Jilin Archaeological sites in China Goguryeo History of Korea Buildings and structures in Jilin Pyramids in China

See also

References