• Conservation Science in Museum
• /
• v.22
• /
• pp.69-84
• /
• 2019

This study investigated the formal characteristics and chemical compositions of eighty beads excavated from a Silla tomb complex at Deokcheon-ri, Uljin in order to reveal the methods of production and the characteristics of the raw materials involved, thereby illuminating characteristics of the relics from each tomb. The beads excavated from these Silla tombs include one curved bead, one tubular bead, and 78 globular beads. Among them, the curved and tubular beads and three globular beads were identified to be made of minerals, and the remaining 75 beads are made of glass. Most of the glass beads are thought to have been produced using the drawing technique. The characteristics of the beads were classified according to their site of excavation. The globular beads from Tomb No. 34 belong to the lead-barium glass and potash glass groups, indicating that these beads were produced at a relatively earlier period in time. The glass beads excavated from the tombs in the northern portion of the complex differ in color and chemical composition from those in the southern portion, which indicates the character that each group of beads had different aspect according to site location. Considering that the excavated beads were mainly from fifth- and sixth-century tombs, it is likely that certain groups of people living around Uljin used and buried beads in their tombs. As the governance of Silla became more centralized in the sixth century, the use of beads for burial purpose appears to have come to an end in this region.