Underwater archaeology in Korea

책 소개

Treasure Ships in Korea Korea is a country surrounded by water on three sides. For many centuries the people of the Korean peninsula have been actively involved in exchange with its neighboring countries and transported goods produced in Korea by exploiting local sea routes. For example, cargo vessels transported grains paid as taxes to Gaegyeong (present-day Gaeseong), the ancient capital of the Goryeo Dynasty, and to Hanyang (present-day Seoul), the capital of the Joseon Dynasty. However, numerous marine accidents were caused by rapid tidal currents, heavy fogs, and dangerous reefs; and many cargo vessels came to grief in the seas surrounding the Korean peninsula. Although shipwrecks were a source of great misfortune for their crews, the wrecked ships and the many artifacts that sank with them lie preserved under mud, often preserving historical scenes of ancient societies. Therefore, it is reasonable to define the Korean seabed as a living marine museum that contains vivid evidence of ancient human societies and lifestyles. Preface | The underwater excavation of the Sinan Shipwreck, which was initially conducted in Korea in 1976, was a section of the exhibition. However, at that time there was no particular training for underwater excavation by archaeologists or special underwater survey equipment in Korea, so it fell to divers of the Republic of Korea Navy to carry out underwater investigations. After completing the underwater excavation of the Sinan Shipwreck, the situation remained unchanged for years due to vague fears and real risks associated with the underwater environment. Since 2002, however, the Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage has secured the budget required for further academic underwater excavations, including much-needed funds for equipment, and has trained underwater archaeologists. By building up our field experiences very gradually, the institute has succeeded in pioneering underwater excavation in Korea, and produced remarkable achievements that have shed light on the life of Korean people in the past. Our underwater excavations have brought to light many historical facts and events that are not recorded in historical sources. The celadon prunus vase was called jun (樽) in the Goryeo Period, and was used as a storage vessel for precious foodstuffs such as honey and sesame oil, as well as liquors. In addition, it was found that the ship was transporting antlers of a deer species already extinct in Korea to Gaegyeong in the Goryeo Period. At present, Korean underwater archaeology, which thankfully has moved beyond the stage of conducting underwater surveys with the assistance of the Republic of Korea Navy, is leading Asia and the world by pioneering its way to the highest level. Korea is one of the few countries to possess underwater exploration ships. A prominent Japanese underwater archaeologist confessed that Japanese underwater archaeology is now at a lower level than Korean underwater archaeology. Even underwater archaeologists of the MEDCs have learned from the investigation methods and experiences of Korea’s underwater archaeologists. In these circumstances, the staff of the institute and Korean underwater archaeologists asked themselves what they could do beyond the publication of excavation reports and the exhibition of excavation results. We, at the Institute, felt that, as the year 2016 marks the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of Korean underwater archaeology with the excavation of the Sinan Shipwreck, it would be appropriate to publish a book commemorating this auspicious anniversary and to introduce the proud achievements of Korean underwater archaeology to the general public. Certainly, we did not simply dive into the sea with the dream of publishing book on Korean underwater archaeology. As the results of our efforts continued to accumulate, our dream grew bolder. In order to encourage ourselves not to be lazy, we wrote about our efforts to salvage one of the many fragmen…

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