By Kim Tae-jong

Archaeologists on Wednesday announced they found a gilt-bronze waist belt and a spade-like tool from six tombs believed to be 1,600 years old in Kongju, capital of the Paekche Kingdom (B.C. 18-660 A.D.) in South Chungchong Province.

The team had found two headpieces and three pairs of shoes made with a mix of gold and copper along with other ornaments such as earrings and belts from the tombs on Dec. 2.

The tombs are believed to have been built during the Paekche Kingdom, and are regarded as evidence of the existence of settlements in the area prior to becoming the kingdom’s capital in the late fourth century.

The belt would be the fourth of the same kind found on the Korean peninsula so far including the two belts unearthed from the tomb of King Muryong in 1971. The spade is presumed to have been used in a ritual.

``Although such spades were used for irrigation work in that period, the one we found must have been used in a ritual ceremony to indicate the social status of the dead, given the number of luxury items recovered from the tomb,’’ the teams senior researcher, Kang Chong-won, told Yonhap News Agency.

Kongju is located some 150 kilometers south of Seoul. The city, called Ungjin during Paekche period, became the kingdom’s capital in 475.


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