Wooden plow from Three Kingdoms period excavated in S.Korea for the first time

▲ This photo, provided by the Seoul Baekje Museum, shows the wooden plow excavated from the Mongchontoseong Earthen Fortification. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- A wooden plow presumed to be from Goguryeo was found from Mongchontoseong Earthen Fortification, the remains of Hanseong Baekje. This is the first time that a wooden plow from the Three Kingdoms period has been unearthed in South Korea.

On Thursday, the Seoul Baekje Museum announced the intermediate results of the Mongchontoseong excavation.

According to the museum, in April 2022, a wooden plow believed to have been made during the Three Kingdoms period was unearthed at a pond in Mongchontoseong Earthen Fortification, Songpa-gu, Seoul.

The plow excavated is the first wooden plow excavated from the Three Kingdoms period in South Korea, and is characterized by a complete plow shape. The museum explains that it is a unique structure in Korea that cannot be seen in East Asia including China and Japan.

The total length of the plow is 165-170 cm, with the blade part being 29 cm, and the maximum width being 18 cm.

According to the existing research data, this type of plow is identical as the plow called "Gadaegi" used in Hamgyeong province (one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty), Yanbian, China and Primorsky Krai.

Additionally, as a result of the natural scientific age analysis, it is understood that the pond was built and used during Goguryeo between 469-541, and is estimated that it was a Goguryeo plow considering the aspect of the relics excavated inside.

"We have secured important data for the study of ancient Korean plows," the museum said. "The excavation of wooden plow will be an important turning point in the study of the history of agricultural technology that can infer the ancient agricultural society," the museum said.

The museum will be preserving the wooden plow excavated and use it for exhibition and educational purposes. It will be included in the excavation report and provided as research data to the academia.

(This article is translated from Korean to English by Haemin Kim.)

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