Three Necklaces Excavated from Gimhae Gaya Tumuli Designated as Treasures... Cultural Heritage Administration Announcement

Necklace excavated from Tomb No. 322 in Yangdong-ri, Gimhae. (Photo by Gimhae City)

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kang Woo-kwon] On the 8th, Gimhae City in Gyeongnam announced that the Cultural Heritage Administration has announced the designation of three necklaces from the Gaya period excavated from the Daeseong-dong and Yangdong-ri tumuli as treasures.

This is the first time that relics from the Geumgwan Gaya region have been recognized for their value as treasures. The Cultural Heritage Administration plans to designate the three Gaya necklaces as national designated cultural properties (treasures) after a 30-day notice period and a review by the Cultural Heritage Committee.

The ornaments whose treasure designation has been announced this time are the necklace excavated from Daeseong-dong Tomb No. 76, the crystal necklace excavated from Yangdong-ri Tomb No. 270, and the necklace excavated from Yangdong-ri Tomb No. 322. Their excavation sites are clear, their preservation status is good, and their forms are complete, thus recognized as treasures with historical, academic, and artistic value.

In particular, the sculptural completeness and delicate craftsmanship allow a glimpse into the sophisticated cultural level of 3rd to 4th century Geumgwan Gaya, known as the kingdom of iron, and also demonstrate Gaya's excellent ability to process various glass products.

The materials of the beads are diverse, including gold, silver, glass, gold leaf-coated glass, crystal, amber, and jade, and the forms are also varied, such as panok (板屋, flatly processed jade products), gokok, daerongok (jade products in a long tube shape like a tube), and damyeonok (多面玉, jade products with multiple facets).

Since 2018, the Cultural Heritage Administration has been investigating whether relics with clear excavation sites and reflecting the characteristics of the Gaya cultural area among collections applied for by local governments and national museums can be designated as cultural properties.

So far, treasures have been designated such as gilt-bronze crowns from the Jisan-dong Tumuli in Goryeong, iron armor from the Bokcheon-dong Tumuli in Busan, bronze Childu-ryeong, pottery with turtle decorations, gold earrings from the Okjeon Tumuli in Hapcheon, large ring-handled swords, horse armor and large ring-handled swords from the Magap Tomb in Haman, but this is the first time that relics from the Geumgwan Gaya region have been recognized for their value as treasures.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.