| Weapon
refers to swords, iron spears, iron axes and arrowheads used
for fighting. A good number of big swords, iron spears, iron
axes and arrowheads were found in the Daegaya mounded tombs.
Of these, the big sword with a round pommel is a weapon
that shows the character of the tumulus’s actor most clearly.
The pommels are classified into several kinds: plain ring
pommels, tri-ring pommels, ring pommels with tri-leaf ornaments
and ring pommels with dragon or Chinese phoenix ornament.
There are many ring pommels with tri-leaf ornaments in Goguryeo
and Gaya, tri-ring pommels in Silla and ring pommels with
dragon or Chinese phoenix ornaments in Baekje.
The big sword with a round pommel is very helpful in understanding
the character of the tomb’s actor. This is because the quality
of the material, character and size of its ornaments are
varying in accordance with the difference in power.
Among the big swords that the ruling class of Daegaya wore,
the big sword with a round pommel on which dragon and Chinese
phoenix ornaments are inscribed is the most typical one.
This kind of sword was exhumed in the Jisan-dong Tumulus
No. 33 and the Okjeon Tumulus No. M3 in Hapcheon.
The big sword, with the inlaid pattern, refers to an inlaid
sword which is decorated with a gold and silver pattern.
This kind of sword was excavated in several sites, including
the Okjeon Tumulus No. 70 in Hapcheon and the Wolsan-ri
Tumulus No. M1-A in Namwon.
The big sword discovered in the Jisan-dong Tumulus No.
32NE-1 is the most noteworthy among big swords. This sword
was decorated with dragon and Chinese ornaments and was
inlaid with the arabesque pattern.
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