Overview
Silla ruled from Gyeongju for nearly a thousand years, and its kings were buried under mounds of stones and earth over wooden chambers — a construction that collapsed onto the burial and sealed it, which is why the contents survived when Chinese-style chamber tombs were robbed. Cheonmachong, excavated in 1973, yielded a gold crown and a painted saddle flap showing a heavenly horse, which gave the tomb its name. The interior is reconstructed with the finds in place.
Highlights
Go into Cheonmachong for the section through the mound, which explains the whole burial method in one look. The park is best in the hour after opening, when the mounds throw long shadows and the tour groups have not arrived. Gyeongju National Museum, twenty minutes away, holds the crowns themselves.