Ancient iron scale armor found in Yeoncheon County

A complete iron scale armor from the ancient Korean Goguryeo Dynasty has been discovered for the first time in Yeoncheon County, Gyeonggi Province.

Unearthing relics at fortresses Yeoncheon, a Seoul National University excavation team said Tuesday, "We have discovered an iron scale armor of a Goguryeo warrior at the second fortress in the village of Mudeung by the Imjin River, and are excavating the site."

Several pieces of iron scale armor from Goguryeo had been previously discovered, but this was the first discovery of such armor in complete form in South and North Korea and China.

Yeoncheon is an area where Goguryeo, Baekje and Shilla fiercely fought to take control during the Three Kingdoms` Period around the 6th Century. The fortress at the township of Mudeung-ri is a fortress of the Goguryeo military, which fought the troops of its rival Shilla.

The excavation team has been searching for internal relics of the Mudeung-ri fortress since last month at the request of Yeoncheon County.

Part of the iron scale armor was discovered on May 8. The armor was found right by a pillar of a gate presumed to be the entrance to a major military building in the fortress. At first, the neck section of the iron scale clothing was detected but as the excavation proceeded, the armor eventually showed itself Tuesday in a complete form, with its shoulder and wrist parts completely exposed.

The excavation team`s leader Lee Seon-bok said, "Considering that it was discovered by the entrance, a Goguryeo general who was protecting major military facilities seems to have left the armor and fled when his troops suffered a surprise attack by Shilla forces.”

The newly discovered armor takes the form of “chalgap,” in which small iron pieces are tied with leather string. This differs in shape from “pangap” of Gaya Kingdom forces in which iron sheet was attached to the chest in its entirety.

The armor of a Goguryeo soldier had been solely based on murals from Goguryeo, and the discovery will allow experts to assume the accurate shape of the arm.

Lee said, "The revelation of a genuine Goguryeo armor in its entirety is a major achievement in the study of ancient history," adding, "It will be an invaluable historic material in the study of war history during the Three Kingdoms Period and Goguryeo."