Gyeongju Joksaem L17 Artifact Unveiled

Tomorrow, Jungwon-style Waist Belt Decorations, Horse Tack, Helmets, and More to Be Unveiled
"A New Foundation for Research on Silla's Foreign Exchanges"

Central Plains-style belt ornament excavated from the Gyeongju Jjoksaem L17 wooden coffin tomb

Central Plains-style belt ornaments (belt decorations produced during the Chinese Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties period in Yangjin), along with horse gear, helmets, and pottery excavated from the wooden coffin tomb (mokgakmyo, a type of nested coffin tomb) at Gyeongju Jjoksaem L17, are unveiled.

The National Gyeongju Cultural Heritage Research Institute will hold a briefing session on the 17th at the excavation site of Gyeongju Jjoksaem L17 to introduce the unearthed artifacts. Jjoksaem L17 is a wooden coffin tomb of the I-hyeol Ju-bu-gwak style (a tomb with a main coffin and an attached secondary coffin). It is located opposite the Wolseong-ro site, which is considered an important Silla tomb. It is the largest wooden coffin tomb discovered so far in Gyeongju. Although partially damaged due to various developments, the October excavation last year revealed Central Plains-style belt ornaments, horse gear, helmets, and pottery all at once. These items will be disclosed at this briefing and stored in the National Gyeongju Cultural Heritage Research Institute’s repository.

Bit from the wooden coffin tomb L17 at Jjoksaem, Gyeongju

The Central Plains-style belt ornament, found in two pieces on the west side of the main coffin, is made of gilt bronze. It is presumed that a dragon was engraved on its surface. Although the head is missing, the body, legs, and tail parts are identifiable. The form appears to be a gwapan (?pan, a metal decoration attached to the outer belt) and a hanging type (suhwa-sik) used by fastening it to a belt. An official stated, "This is a high-quality item produced in China and imported to the Korean Peninsula. Its discovery in Gyeongju, the royal capital of Silla, is significant. It establishes a new foundation for research on Silla’s foreign exchanges." Until now, Central Plains-style belt ornaments had only been found in the Daeseong-dong tomb cluster in Gimhae.

The horse gear discovered together, including a bit (?), rectangular metal fittings, and heart-leaf-shaped ironware, is highly decorative. An official said, "Rectangular metal fittings (stabilizers), which appear to be saddle accessories, were also excavated. Among cases with such combinations, this is the earliest found in Gyeongju."

A Collection of Pottery Excavated from Wooden Coffin Tomb L17 at Jjoksaem, Gyeongju

This excavation also uncovered a large quantity of rare high-fired pottery (hard pottery fired in kilns maintaining temperatures above 1000°C). These include a handle-attached brazier-shaped vessel stand (bashu-fu rohyeong gidae), a short-necked jar with rope mat patterns (sangseokmun dan-gyeong ho), a cylindrical high-footed dish (tonghyeong gup-dari jeopsi), and small-sized vessel stands (sohyeong gidae). An official commented, "Since these resemble items found in Gimhae, Busan, and Haman, they will serve as important materials for studying regional exchange patterns."

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