Evidence for the Construction andExtension Methods of Pungnap Earthen Fortification (Pungnaptoseong):

OnlineAnnouncement by the Ganghwa National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage

(Tuesday, December 1, 2020 at 14:00)

The Ganghwa National Research Instituteof Cultural Heritage (GNRICH, Director YU Jae-eun), under the Cultural HeritageAdministration (CHA), will disclose the results of the evidence found for the constructionand extension methods of Pungnaptoseong(also known as the Earthen Fortification in Pungnap-dong or Pungnap Earthen Rampart,Historic Site No. 11) through the official YouTube channel of the CulturalHeritage Administration on Tuesday, December 1 at 2 p.m.

  * Excavation site of Pungnaptoseong: 310 Pungnap-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul

  * The official YouTube channel of the CulturalHeritage Administration: https://www.youtube.com/chluvu

 The Ganghwa National Research Institute ofCultural Heritage has conducted excavation of the west rampart of Pungnaptoseong since 2017. At the time,only a section of the southwest wall was revealed on the surface, and only atrace of the foundation was identified through a survey of the scheduled constructionsite of the new Sampyo Headquarter Building, which was conducted by theNational Research Institute of Cultural Heritage (NRICH) from 2002 to 2003. Theexcavation survey conducted from 2017 confirmed the direction, scale, andstructure of the west rampart along with the site of the west gate.

  Horizontal excavation was undertaken in this areafor the first time to check how the west ramparts were constructed. As aresult, wooden posts were discovered in soil layers or toru, which was installed to build the walls of the Rampart. It isestimated that the wooden posts were mounted and soil was stacked from thebottom of the toru or heap of soil.Currently, within a single toru*, layersof soil were stacked with wooden columns installed at intervals of 88 to 162cm.A total of six wooden posts were identified. Wooden posts were discovered in single,doubleand triple toru as well, which wasused to stack the walls of the earthen rampart. In particular, stones are areinstalled at the boundary between the double and triple toru to support thewooden posts located in the direction and in the opposite direction of theramparts. The wooden posts in the opposite direction of the ramparts were firstidentified in the Pungnaptoseong and are presumed to be part of theconstruction method or the structure of the fortress wall. The wooden postsidentified in the west rampart of the Pungnaptoseong are an important clue tothe construction method and process of the rampart.This provided importantclues to the construction method and process of the rampart.

 * Toru:A pile of earth that forms the body of Pungnaptoseong.Pungnaptoseong was built by stacking asingle toru, which is the central frameand mounds of soil were added several times (double toru, triple toru). In buildingthe walls, the panchuk or stamped earthmethod was used where layers of stampedearth was filled in the wooden frames and seongtoor mound layeringtechnique of stackingdifferent soil in alternation were used at the same time.  

  Also, clear evidence of the expansion of the rampartwall was found after the original construction. An evidence of this is the appearanceof buseok facility, which was found between the original construction layer (singleand double toru) and the expansion layer(triple toru). After the constructionof single and double toru, a buseokfacility is laid to reinforce the inner wall of the rampart, which was used fora certain period of time. Subsequently, triple toru is mounded on top of the buseok facility for extension. The tracesof this extension was clearly identified during this excavation.

 * Buseokfacility: One or two thin layers of stone on the floor or periphery

  Pungnap Earthen Rampart is a large-scaleearthen fortification with a width of 40 to 50 meters, height of 11 meters anda circumference of 3.5 kilometers or more, which is believed to have beenexpanded several times. The hypothesis on the expansion of Pungnap Earthen Ramparthas been continuously discussed since the excavation in 2011, but there werevarious interpretation up to now. Based on the buseok facility (inner wallreinforcement) identified in this excavation, the boundary between the originaland the expansion layers of the wall was clearly identified.

  This investigation is meaningful in that thediscovery of wooden posts used in the construction of Pungnap Earthen Rampartconfirmed its controversial construction method. In addition, solid evidence ofextension of walls is expected to be used as an important resource for future researchon the construction method of Pungnaptoseong.

  Based on the results of this year's excavations,the Cultural Heritage Administration's Ganghwa National Research Institute of CulturalHeritage will continue to conduct thorough research and investigation in 2021on the construction method of Pungnap Earthen Rampart, and take the lead inuncovering the realities of the Pungnaptoseongof the Baekje Kingdom.

Attachment: Photographsof the excavation site