Ornamented Dagger from Gyerim-ro, Gyeongju

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.635

Category

Craft

Era

신라시대(5∼6세기)

Designated year

1978

Location

경주시, 경상북도— 경상북도 경주시 일정로 186 (인왕동, 국립경주박물관)

Coordinates

35.829387, 129.227912

This sword was excavated from Tumulus No. 14 of the Tomb of King Michu in Gyeongju. This rare discovery is 36 cm long. It was excavated from one of the 200 tumuli around the tomb found during repair work at Gyerim-no in 1973. The iron scabbard and the blade are decayed and lost, and only the gold inlay remains today. It was discovered around the waist of the buried man. The pommel is shaped like a thimble and there is a red agate studded in the middle. There is a round figure that looks like the circle of Yin and Yang on the flat plate just above where the scabbard would have been. It has a different shape and pattern from the gilt-bronze swords with phoenix-topped round pommels excavated from the tumuli of the Three Kingdoms period. Such short swords are found in Europe and the Middle East but hardly ever in Asia. This makes the discovery of the sword a matter of unique importance. It is an invaluable material that shows one aspect of the cultural exchanges between east and est. King Michu was the thirteenth king of Silla. He acceded to the throne in 262 and reigned for 23 years until 284. His tomb is otherwise called Jukjangneung (Tomb of Bamboo Soldiers) or Jukhyeonneung (Tomb where Bamboo Soldiers Appeared). Samguk sagi or The History of the Three Kingdoms tells about the legendary origin of this name. In 297 (the 14th year of his son, King Yuri’s reign), Iseogoguk (a nearby confederation of tribes) invaded Geumseong, the capital of Silla. Soldiers of the Silla kingdom went out to meet their enemy but could not fend them off. At the critical moment a host of soldiers appeared. Their numbers were countless and all of them had bamboo leaves stuck behind their ears. They fought together with the soldiers of Silla, defeated the enemy, and then disappeared. Afterwards somebody noticed a heap of bamboo leaves on the tomb of King Michu and this led people to say that the dead Michu had helped Silla with his secret army.

Location