Matching fragments of Silla stele reunited

Two fragments of a stele from Korea’s ancient Silla kingdom have been reunited at the Gyeongju National Museum after 83 years. The reunited fragments will be on display in a special exhibition through August 17th.

The first fragment was discovered in 1937 on the Wolseong Palace site, the remains of a Silla royal palace in Gyeongju built in the 4th century. It was small, just 13.62 cm wide, 11.13 cm high, 9.75 cm thick (5.4 x 4.4 x 3.8 inches), and had a few characters inscribed on it, but only “存” meaning “exist” could be conclusively identified as the rest were damaged and incomplete. It has been in the collection of the Gyeongju National Museum since its discovery.

In 2020, the second fragment was unearthed during the excavation of the defensive moat that once surrounded the palace. This fragment was larger, 16.47 cm wide, 16.58 cm high and 13.67 cm thick (6.48 x 6.52 x 5.38 inches). It is inscribed with characters including “貢” (tribute), “白” (white), “不” (not), “天” (heaven), and “渡” (cross).

The connection to the earlier discovery was not immediately evident, but in 2024, researchers recalled the previous stone and noted the similarities between the two. Analysis of the stones found that they were both the same type — alkali granite quarried from the Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju — and 3D scans of the fragments found that their broken edges fit together perfectly. When the two pieces were joined, the half characters at the edges completed and the character “稱” (call) was identified.

The calligraphy style is atypical for a Silla inscription. It’s a clerical script (yeoseo) rather than the standard haeseo script usually seen on Silla stele. No other Silla texts written in yeoseo have been found before. Epigraphy experts hypothesize that the fragment may originate with the Goguryeo kingdom’s 5th century expedition to Silla territory, when it sent reinforcements by request to fend off attacks from the two other Korean kingdoms (Baekje, Gaya) and Japan.

However, scholars caution against drawing conclusions based solely on script style, noting that writing styles cannot be tied to a single state or era. Given that the fragments were excavated from the Wolseong Palace Site, some argue that the stele may still have been commissioned by Silla.

The fragments, along with 3D scan data, deciphered inscriptions, and comparative materials with the Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great, will be on display at the Treasury of the Silla Millennium inside the Gyeongju National Museum from Monday to Aug. 17.

“We hope additional fragments will be discovered to help reveal more about the identity of this stele,” said Kim Hyeon-hee, head of the curatorial research division at the Gyeongju National Museum.

* This article was originally published here