몽골에서 최근 발굴된 돌궐시대 벽화고분의 소개

Abstract

From July to September in 2011, the joint research team of the Science Academy of Mongolia and the Turkish-Altai study center of the Eurasian Academy of Kazakhstan has excavated a wall painted tomb at Shoroon Bumbagar, Bayannuur sum, Bulgan aimag, Mongolia. The tomb is closely located to Ulaan Kherem, a Qidan earthen walled city. It was the first time to excavate a mural tomb in Mongolia and the tomb is approximately dated to the period of the Turks(6th to 8th centuries)The diameter and the height of the mound of the tomb measure 32m and 4m respectively. Around 570 burial objects and over 40 murals were found from the Shoroon Bumbagar tomb. Wall paintings of the tomb include 24 male and female figures, two saddled horses, two gate buildings, and a lotus flower, etc. Oriented to the south, the tomb consists of a sloping tomb path, four vertical airshafts, four ramps, two side niches, a level corridor, and a square tomb chamber. The total length of the tomb is 42m. The main chamber and two side niches have a wooden door with a lock. From the niches, about 100 earthen and wooden figurines were found. A wooden coffin was placed on the west side of the chamber and a wooden box, 80×35cm, was placed inside the coffin. The cremated ashes of the deceased, a golden vessel, golden ornaments, and Byzantine coins in a wrapping cloth were discovered in it. The wall paintings on the sloping tomb path are the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger as well as 8 male figures in a procession and 6 red flags hung on a flag stand. The upper part of the north wall of the tomb path has an entrance connected to the first airshaft has a painting of a gate building. On the walls of the first vertical airshaft are two horse grooms dressed in a Central Asian costume and two saddled horses. The upper parts of the north walls of the vertical airshafts have a painting of a lotus flower(first airshaft), a monster face(second airshaft), and the gate building(third airshaft). Remaining paintings of a main chamber show 6 male and female figures as well as 7 trees. Drawn with a rough and thick brushwork, the painting style appears different from those of the sloping tomb path. The burial objects excavated from the tomb include male and female figurines, either standing or riding on a horse, two heavenly kings, two guardian figures, animal figurines, gold and bronze objects, fragments of a golden floral crown ornament, a golden ring with a filigree decoration, and a miniature horse saddle. Byzantine coins of the Emperor Heraclius, dated to around 630s, were also excavated and it is assumed that they were used as a gift or an ornament. With these rare examples of wall paintings and burial objects, this newly excavated mural tomb in Mongolia provide us with significant information about the cultural exchange among the Turks, China, and Byzantine and would bring a new perspective on the study of the history of wall painted tombs in the 6th to the 8th centuries in Asia.