With this new exhibition, the National Museum of Korea aims to explore the ancient world in a refreshing new way. Towards the tumultuous end of the Silla Kingdom (57 BCE – 935 CE), people frequently buried various items as ritual offerings, to secure their hopes and prayers for the future. Some 1200 years later, these items are starting to be unearthed.

The exhibition is divided into two parts, the first of which features items recovered from ancient wells from the Silla Kingdom, including earthenware, roof tiles, buckets, and the bones of animals and even a child. Many of these items are believed to be evidence of rituals being performed in the wells, to pray for a steady supply of water, more rainfall, or good health.

Some of these well structures were discovered around the area of Wolseong (north of the Gyeongju National Museum, presumed to be the former site of the Silla palace), and these are thought to have been the sites of national ceremonies, given their large size and distinctive characteristics. In particular, two wells located within the Gyeongju National Museum site yielded an amazing array of animal bones (about 30 species and more than 2,300 bone fragments) and more than 530 pieces of artifacts made from earth, metal, or wood. Our imagination is particularly stimulated by the discovery of a child’s skeleton. Is this evidence of an accident or a sacrificial rite?

The second part of the exhibition is subdivided into three themes: fragrance, sound, and light. It presents the wishes of Silla people, which were held in a small cauldron excavated from what is presumed to be a former temple site in Malheul-ri, Changnyeong. Interestingly, upon being buried, the top of the cauldron was covered with worthless metal scraps, concealing the treasures inside, including a splendid gilt-bronze ornamental plate inscribed with an image of Buddha, a gilt-bronze wind-bell, and an incense burner. The fact that these treasures were cleverly disguised indicates that the cauldron was probably not buried for a ritual or ceremony. Were they hidden from some invading force? Did they have to be abandoned when someone was forced to flee? Or perhaps they were left behind by people who sincerely wished to return some day when the world of the true Buddha had been realized. Either way, through this unique exhibition, visitors can experience the time when ancient Silla people held their wishes in their hearts—and in their precious objects.

Length- 108cm, Height- 53cm, Gyeongju National Museum