Recent Discoveries in Silla Settlement Archaeology

In Silla history, the Maripkan period saw the Kyŏngju-centered Saro polity subjugate peripheral regional polities and towns and develop into an ancient state. Archaeologically, this period saw the construction of large and small Silla-style tombs within the Silla area of authority. In the past, Silla archaeology has tended to study tomb material, especially high tombs constructed in Kyŏngju and the central regions of peripheral regional polities, to understand the political relationship between the Silla central government and local leaders. Silla villages, roads, fortresses, small-tomb cemeteries, and other features dating to the fourth through sixth centuries exposed by recent excavations in the Silla sphere give us a new understanding of Maripkan-period Silla society. The early records of the Silla Annals as contained in the Samguk sagi depict Silla as already having developed to the level of an ancient state, but this does not accord with the reality of the period. Nevertheless, it is true that Maripkan-period records do describe events that are generally accurate. Consequently, there are many details in the Silla Annals’ records of this period that are worth comparing with recently excavated archaeological data of the Maripkan period.