▲ This photo, provided by the Cultural Heritage Administration and the Paju City, shows Paju Yukgyetoseong Fortress. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sep. 15 (Yonhap) -- An excavation to define the historical value of “Paju Yukgyetoseong Fortress” known as a relic from the Three Kingdoms of Korea and as the Earthen Fortification during the Hanseong Period of Baekje.

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage performed a ritual signaling the start of an excavation, at Yukgyetoseong Fortress Wednesday and announced that the investigation will last until next month.

The investigation aims to check the sedimentation of the soil and the range of the relics’ distribution at the northeast and some parts the inside of the fortress.

The fortress, located in Paju City Jeokseong-myeon Juwol-ri, was built at a protrusion that meets with the winding Imjin Fiver. Its perimeter is 1,858m and its area is approximately 216,000㎡, which is about 25% of the Earthen Fortification in pungnap-dong Seoul assumed to be the capital of Baekje in Hanseong Period.

Although there are documents from the Joseon Dynasty about the castle site, who and when it was built have not been identified.

An emergent investigation took place as the Imjin River flooded in 1996 and intermittent excavations were carried out inside the earthen fortress.

Through the excavations, earthenwares from Baekje and Goguryeo including sites similar to the housing site discovered in the Earthen Fortress in Pungnap-dong were found. The place turned out to be a earthen fortress of Baekje and a historical site related to Goguryeo’s southward advance.

“This excavation carries a meaning in that it is the beginning of an active academical investigation to identify the overall appearance of the Yukgyetoseong Fortress. Through investigation and reproduction, we will confirm its value until 2025 and will set up a measure to preserve, organize and make a use of the historical site,” said an official of the Institute.


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