Gaya Tumuli recommended for inclusion on UNESCO World Heritage list

The Gaya Tumuli, seven tomb clusters from Korea's ancient Gaya confederacy, has been recommend for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage list by an international advisory body, the Cultural Heritage Administration said Thursday.

The Gaya Tumuli was recommended for inscription during a meeting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a cultural heritage evaluation advisory organization under UNESCO, according to CHA.

The World Heritage Committee will make a final decision based on ICOMOS' recommendation during the 45th session to be held in Saudi Arabia in September.

Gaya was a loosely knit federation of six or seven small kingdoms that prospered between the first and sixth centuries in southern and central region of the Korean Peninsula.

The tumuli consists of seven clusters of tombs that display the architectural style of graves built in the fourth and fifth centuries, along with burial accessories and goods showing Gaya's network of trade and handcrafted manufacturing.

The seven cemeteries are all sited in highly visible hilly areas in the political center of their respective polities. These sites exhibit dense concentrations of burials that were constructed over extended periods of time.

Cultural heritage authorities said the ICOMOS recognized the nominated property's outstanding universal value as important evidence of Gaya, which had loosely linked political structures.

"The Gaya Tumuli bears exceptional testimony to Gaya, a unique ancient East Asian civilization that coexisted with its more strongly centralized neighbors but maintained a distinct confederated political system. The nominated property is important evidence of the diversity found among ancient East Asian civilizations," a state-run heritage site nomination committee said on a website.

If the tumuli are added to the list, South Korea will have 16 sites inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (Yonhap)