Reconstructing The Past – A Notable Step Forward In Korean Archaeology

Archaeologists with few other experts have reconstructed a girl who is 1,500-year-old. She was perhaps 16 years old and had a wide, flat Asian face, a long neck and a slim body. The girl expired 1,500 years ago. But now she’s reborn – well, partially, at least.

Officials from the Gaya National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage in Korea displayed the restored model of the girl from the Gaya confederacy era (42-562) yesterday at the National Palace Museum of Korea.

The restoration is the outcome of two years of interdisciplinary work that brought together specialists in archaeology, forensic medicine, anatomy, genetics, chemistry and other fields. It is a notable step forward in Korean archaeology.

In December 2007, archaeologists revealed the complete ruins of the girl and partial remains of three others in a tomb in Changnyeong County, South Gyeongsang. By the time of the unearthing, there had already been a grave robbery.

Archaeologists concluded that the four were attendants of the tomb’s owner because they were placed horizontally. The ruins of the owner,were missing.

“We rarely find bones in such a good condition from the era because soil in Korea is really rich,” said Lee Seong-jun, a researcher at the institute. “There have been restorations, but most of them were based on the imagination. This case, however, is strictly based on medical science, somatology and statistics.”

Lee added that the discovery was the first time forensic experts – in this case from the National Institute of Scientific Investigation – recovered the ruins of an ancient tomb.