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An exhibit in Seoul until March 1 guides you through 2,000-year-old artifacts, ranging from iron armors and swords to pottery and accessories like gold crowns.
The National Museum is holding an exhibition on Gaya, an ancient confederacy of small city-states in the central-southern region of the Korean Peninsula from AD 42-562.
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Under the title of “Gaya Spirit -- Iron and Tune,” the exhibition displays some 2,600 artifacts from 31 institutions here and abroad, including the Tokyo National Museum and Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art.
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The exhibition gives visitors a glimpse into the history of the less-discussed ancient confederacy. It starts with a “clay horse bell with tortoiseshell design,” which is tied to Suro, the mythical founder of Geumgwan Gaya, the most powerful state of the confederacy.
Standing in the middle of a large open hall is “Pasa” stone pagoda, which Heo, Suro’s foreign-born wife, is believed to have brought from her native land.
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The exhibition also includes archeological findings that hint at the lifestyle and state affairs of the kingdoms that have long gone.
Photographed by Park Hyun-koo
Written by Shim Woo-hyun (ws@heraldcorp.com)