Baekje Transverse Flute from 1,500 Years Ago Found in Royal Palace Toilet... Prototype of Korean Instrument Sogeum Identified (Comprehensive)

Excavation Results from the Gwanbuk-ri Site in Buyeo Revealed
Transverse Flute Unearthed from a Pit Containing Parasite Eggs
Restored with Six Finger Holes and Demonstrated
"Discarded in a Broken State...There Is Likely a Deep Story Behind It"

The breath that touched the lips of a Baekje person 1,500 years ago has miraculously awakened from a royal palace toilet pit.

On the 5th, the National Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute of the Korea Heritage Service made public a transverse flute (horizontally played bamboo flute) and 329 wooden tablets excavated from the Gwanbuk-ri site in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province (presumed site of the royal palace from the Sabi period). The transverse flute is a landmark achievement that scientifically proves the actual form of Baekje musical instruments. It is a 22.4 cm-long bamboo tube instrument, recovered in a flattened state from a pit near the royal audience hall (Jodang, where royal audiences were held).

Hwang Inho, Director of the National Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute, said, "Analysis of the organic matter inside the pit revealed a large quantity of herbaceous pollen and parasite eggs," adding, "This makes it highly likely that the place where the instrument was discarded was a toilet."

Under normal environmental conditions, the thin bamboo would long since have decayed and disappeared, but it survived thanks to moisture and filth. The mud layer, formed like silt, blocked oxygen and played the role of a "vacuum pack" that prevented microbial growth.

Oh Hyundeok, Head Curator of the National Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute, explained, "In places where groundwater is abundant, if soil covers an object and cuts off oxygen, there are cases where organic matter does not decompose and remains."

X-ray imaging confirmed that this instrument has four holes bored into it, with one end of the tube (the node at the blowing hole side) sealed. It can be regarded as a transverse flute blown horizontally, that is, the prototype of today's Korean traditional instrument sogeum.

When it was discovered, the instrument was broken, and only three finger holes (excluding the blowing hole) for stopping with the fingers remained. The institute restored it as an instrument with six finger holes. Director Hwang explained, "We reconstructed it in this way, taking into account Chinese written records stating that the flute (jeok) has seven holes including the blowing hole, and the fact that all the transverse flutes excavated in Japan from the 8th to 9th centuries, to which Baekje musical instruments were transmitted, have six finger holes."

The greatest focus of interest is the "sound." Performer Kim Yunhee, who demonstrated the restored instrument on site, stated, "It produces a pitch about a whole tone and a half higher than that of the present-day sogeum." She added, "The blowing hole of the Baekje transverse flute is much smaller than that of the modern sogeum, so it requires much greater breath pressure to produce sound. The spacing between the finger holes is also such that the distance between the fourth and fifth holes is narrow, while that between the fifth and sixth holes is wide, which makes it difficult to play using modern fingering techniques."

Why was a noble instrument of the royal family discarded in a pit of filth? There are many aspects that are hard to explain as a mere case of loss. Director Hwang said, "At the time of discovery, there were clear traces that someone had intentionally broken it, and the missing 30% of the fragments were never found," and speculated, "This suggests that, rather than simple disposal, there may be some profound, hidden story behind it."

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