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Research on matching fragments of ancient Silla stele revealed to public

Published: 13 Apr. 2026, 19:13

Two stele fragments discovered 83 years apart at the Wolseong Palace Site in Gyeongju have been confirmed to be from a single monument, with the findings released alongside related research on April 13. The image shows the two fragments displayed fitted together. [GYEONGJU NATIONAL MUSEUM]

In 1937, archaeologists found a fragment of a Silla-era (57 B.C.–A.D. 935) stele in the southwestern city of Gyeongju. Another piece was found 83 years in 2020, but researchers didn't realize that they came from the same stele until four years later.

The confirmed match has restored previously incomplete inscriptions, raising new questions about who commissioned the stele thousands of years ago. The findings have now been made public to promote research into the origin of the stele, the Gyeongju National Museum and the Gyeongju National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said Monday.

The most recently found fragment, recovered in 2020, is 16.47 centimeters (6.5 inches) wide, 16.58 centimeters high and 13.67 centimeters thick and weighs about 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds).

It was unearthed during the emptying of a water-filled ditch built to protect the palace at the Wolseong Palace Site in Gyeongju. A few Chinese characters, such as gong (offering) or cheon (sky), were identified.

In 2024, researchers connected the piece to a smaller fragment housed at the Gyeongju National Museum.

The unidentified piece was recovered on June 27, 1937, in the western section of the Wolseong Palace Site in Gyeongju — the same area where the other fragment was discovered in 2020. Back then, the Gyeongju National Museum operated as the Gyeongju branch of the Government-General Museum during the Japanese colonial period (1910–45).

A scene of the excavation site of Gyeongju's Wolseong, a palace complex of the Silla Dynasty (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) [KOREA HERITAGE SERVICE]

The smaller fragment measures 13.62 centimeters in width, 11.13 centimeters in height and 9.75 centimeters in thickness, and weighs about 1.23 kilograms. Most of its surface was damaged, but the recovery date and the name of the recoverer, Choi Nam-ju, were still legible.

Material analysis showed both fragments are made of the same alkali granite containing quartz, feldspar and biotite, sourced from Namsan Mountain in Gyeongju. Detailed 3D scans showed the fragments fit together perfectly, with previously incomplete characters merging to reveal the Chinese character ching, meaning “to call” or “to name.”

A total of 16 characters have been identified so far, though only a few are legible. Based on the layout and carving style, researchers believe the fragments come from the central portion of a bigger stele.

A 3D scan of the stele fragments [GYEONGJU NATIONAL MUSEUM]

The discovery has sparked debate over who commissioned the monument. The script used is a clerical script rather than the regular script typically found on Silla stelae.

Some researchers point to similarities with the Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great, a fifth-century monument erected by Goguryeo (37 B.C. to A.D. 668) — an ancient kingdom that once dominated much of the Korean Peninsula — which records its military campaigns.

“Clerical script is more commonly found on Goguryeo stelae, and some scholars have noted similarities with the script used on the Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great,” the Gyeongju National Museum stated.

The findings have led some to suggest the fragments may support accounts of Goguryeo’s southern campaign into Silla in the fifth century.

A digitalized version of the Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great is displayed inside the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [NATIONAL MUSEUM OF KOREA]

The Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great records that in the early fifth century, Goguryeo sent troops to aid Silla after it came under a joint attack by rival states Baekje (18 B.C.–A.D. 660) and Gaya (A.D. 42–562), along with Wa, an early name for Japan used in Chinese records, repelling the invaders and later making Silla a subordinate state.

However, scholars caution against drawing conclusions based solely on script style, noting that writing styles cannot be tied to a single state or era. Given that the fragments were excavated from the Wolseong Palace Site, some argue that the stele may still have been commissioned by Silla.

The fragments, along with 3D scan data, deciphered inscriptions, and comparative materials with the Stele of King Gwanggaeto the Great, will be on display at the Treasury of the Silla Millennium inside the Gyeongju National Museum from Monday to Aug. 17.

“We hope additional fragments will be discovered to help reveal more about the identity of this stele," said Kim Hyeon-hee, head of the curatorial research division at the Gyeongju National Museum.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KANG HYE-RAN [[email protected]]