Within the regions in South Jeolla Province, Hampyeong, Naju, Yeongam, and Haenam are situated within the Yeongsan River watershed. Historically, this geographical feature allowed these regions to have easier access to the sea, fostering active mariti...
Within the regions in South Jeolla Province, Hampyeong, Naju, Yeongam, and Haenam are situated within the Yeongsan River watershed. Historically, this geographical feature allowed these regions to have easier access to the sea, fostering active maritime trades. The abundant discovery of Chinese pottery unearthed from ancient tombs dating back to the Mahan and early Baekje (in Hanseong) eras is the evidence of such active trades. The objective of this research is to investigate the maritime and land routes between China and South Jeolla Province through a comparative study of Chinese pottery found in ancient tombs in the South Jeolla regions (Hampyeong, Naju, Yeongam, and Haenam) and those discovered in China. This research also aims to infer the characteristics, history, and origins of the Chinese pottery excavated from the ancient tombs in the four major regions of South Jeolla Province by examining the ancient tombs scattered throughout the Yeongsan River Basin.
The characteristics of the pottery excavated from the four regions can be summarized into five points: First, all of them were discovered as fragments. Second, all of them are glazed. To categorize them based on the color of the glaze, there are greenish brown examples such as the celadon bowl shard with a carved lotus petal design excavated from the large squarish ancient tomb in Geumsan-ri, Hampyeong, There are also different shades of blackish browns, like the stoneware shard with a stamped coin design from an ancient tomb in the Pyosan site in Masan-ri, Hampyeong, The celadon jard with rug hands excavated from Jeongchon Ancient Tomb in Bokam-ri, Naju, is gray olive color and glazed stoneware shards excavated from the same tomb are black, The glazed stoneware shard from an ancient tomb in the Jeongchon site in Bokam-ri, Naju, and the stoneware shard with a stamped coin design from an ancient tomb in Yongdu-ri, Haenam. Onggwan, No. 19, No. 2 of Okyari Ancient Tombs in Yeongam, and celadon cups excavated from the twin tombs in Naedong-ri, Yeongam, are green and yellow gray, The stoneware shade with astamped coin design excavated from the Yongdu-ri tomb in Haenam confirmed the diversity of color by discovering that a black-brown glaze was applied. Grayish olive hues also exist, like the celadon jar shard with lug handles. These examples confirm the diversity of colors in the glazes used. Third, all of them were objects used in religious rituals. As Junko Tsuchida Junko Tsuchida, 2012, “Examination of the Temporal Location of Chinese Pottery Excavated from Historical Sites of Bakje––with a Focus on Bakje Earthware and Associated Stoneware,” “湖西考古學報” 第27輯, The Huxi Archeology Society, p. 83–84.
inferred that the stoneware with a stamped coin design from Yongdu-ri, Haenam, likely served as a tribute to a religious ritual, this research draws a similar conclusion about these items excavated from the ancient tombs in the four regions. Fourth, the pottery pieces discovered in the four regions of South Jeolla Province are all associated with either the Yangtze or Nanjing region of China. This could suggest that these items possibly found their way sinto South Jeolla Province on the Korean Peninsula because of their predominant circulation within China in Nanjing.
Therefore, it is inferred that the pottery excavated from the four major regions of South Jeolla Province was mostly transported from Jiangsu Province through the south channel, following a direct route to the South Jeolla region. There are few other discoveries believed to have reached the Korean Peninsula through coastal or land routes, though further research is required to confirm this. The ultimate objective of this research is to deduce the revenue channels and characteristics of the importation of Chinese pottery as well as the user base of the channels and provide a basic observation of the background and contextual details of the transitive process of Chinese pottery discovered in the Yeongsan River Basin by analyzing relevant archeological sources.