Bronze Artifacts from Jukdong-ri, Gyeongju

This group of artefacts, excavated at Jukdong-ri, Gyeongju, and made in the early Iron Age, closely resembles in its find circumstances the assemblage excavated at the Ipsil-ri site. Showing the influence of Han-dynasty Chinese culture, these objects are estimated to date to the early first century BC, one of the last stages of bronze-culture sites at which bronze and iron artefacts are found together. (1) Gandu-ryeong, bronze bells mounted on a pole-top (heights 15.4 cm and 15.5 cm) - A pair of bronze objects made from the same mould. Hollow and shell-shaped, they have a rim running around the lower part. Inside, a partition pierced at its centre is fitted, with a bell placed within so that it makes a sound when shaken. The upper part has four long slits, between which run two bands of a conical-hat-shaped pattern made of short lines, and two bands in which triangles made of short lines face one another so that the space between them forms a diamond. The rim at the base is worked in four tiers. (2) Hyeokgeumgu, bronze fittings for leather harness (diameter 4.3-4.6 cm) - Twenty-five pieces in all, falling into three types by form. Type 1: one large piece, its surface convex and formed into three tiers, with a single small loop for hanging attached at the centre of the back. Type 2: twenty-three pieces, circular in front and back profile, their surface convex and stepped up towards the rim, with a boss projecting at the centre. Type 3: differing from Types 1 and 2 in having no boss on the surface, and comparatively thin. (3) Socketed spearhead, or dongmo (present length 28.2 cm) - The tip is partly broken, and is estimated to have originally been about 6.5 cm longer. Three grooves are carved along each edge of the blade. A raised band encircles the shaft just above the point where the haft was fitted, with a round loop attached on one side. (4) Dagger-axe, or donggwa (length 23.4 cm) - Thin throughout, with a thin shoulder and narrow width, a typical late-period dagger-axe. Below the groove on the ridge, a fish-bone pattern is carved. (5) Slender bronze dagger (length 30.2 cm) - Very long for a bronze dagger, with a tip about 9 cm long; the ridge is ground down as far as the shoulder. Unlike other daggers, the groove along the ridge is slightly concave. The shoulder is short relative to the blade, and the cross-section is close to oval. (6) Small bronze bell (height 5.2 cm) - A bell used to adorn a horse, diamond-shaped when seen from above. The area below the bell is folded inward at its centre, and a semicircular weight hangs from the top. (7) Bronze tube (height 4.8 cm) - An object shaped like an oval tube closed at one end. Raised bands encircle it at the top, middle and bottom, and between them numerous triangles are carved, each filled with incised lines. (8) Sword-pommel ornaments, or geompadusik (heights 3.6 cm and 4.4 cm) - Two pieces. In one, the lower part is shaped like a peanut shell cut lengthwise, with square projections attached on both sides forming a cross; the upper part is an upright rectangular block. The lower part is hollow, with a small boss attached at its centre, while the upper part is solid.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물