• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.54-70
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• 2023

Surveys and studies on cultural assets using LiDAR measurement are already active overseas. Recently, awareness of the advantages and availability of LiDAR measurement has increased in Korea, and cases of using it for surveys of cultural assets are gradually increasing. However, it is usually restricted to surveys of mountain fortresses and is not actively used for surveys of ancient tombs yet. Therefore, this study intends to emphasize the need to secure fundamental data from LiDAR measurement for the era from the Three Kingdoms to Unified Silla in which recovery, maintenance, etc., in addition to the actual surveys, are unfulfilled due to the sites being mainly distributed in mountainous areas. For this, LiDAR measurement was executed for the area of Jangsan Ancient Tombs and Chunghyo-dong Ancient Tombs in Seoak-dong, Gyeongju, to review the distribution and geographical conditions of ancient tombs. As a result, in the Jangsan Ancient Tombs, in which a precision archaeological (measurement) survey was already executed, detailed geographic information and distribution conditions could be additionally identified, which could not be known only with the layout indicated by the topographic map of the existing report. Also, in the Chunghyo-dong Ancient Tombs, in which an additional survey was not conducted after 10 tombs were found during the Japanese colonial period, the location of the ancient tombs initially excavated was accurately identified, and the status and additional information was acquired, such as on the conditions of ancient tombs not surveyed. Such information may also be used as fundamental data for the preservation and maintenance of future ancient tombs in addition to the survey and study of the ancient tombs themselves. LiDAR measurement is most effective for identifying the condition of ancient tombs in mountainous areas where observation is difficult or access is limited due to the forest zone. It may be executed before on-site surveys, such as archaeological surveys, to secure data with high availability as prior surveys or pre-surveys. Therefore, it is necessary to secure fundamental data from LiDAR measurement in future surveys of ancient tombs and to establish a survey and maintenance/utilization plan based on this. To establish survey/study and preservation/maintenance measures for ancient tombs located in mountainous areas, a precision archaeological survey is currently executed to draw up a distribution chart of ancient tombs. If LiDAR measurement data is secured before this and used, a more effective and accurate distribution chart can be drawn up, and the actual conditions can be identified. Also, most omissions or errors in information can be prevented in on-site surveys of large regions. Therefore, it is necessary to accumulate fundamental data by actively using LiDAR measurement in future surveys of ancient tombs.