Celadon Shard Found

[Anchor Lead]

The largest shard of a Goryeo-era celadon bottle inlaid with a dragon design ever discovered in the nation was found at a kiln site in Buan, Jeollabuk-do Province. We’ll take you there in our next report.

[Pkg]

A stylized dragon symbolizing the king can be seen clearly on a shard of pottery. This is a piece from the unglazed bisque version of a Goryeo-era celadon bottle inlaid with a dragon swimming in water. Considering the size of the shard, it is thought to be the nation's largest Goryeo-era celadon bottle, measuring 1 m tall with a bottom diameter of 32 cm.

[Soundbite] Yoon Yong-I(Myongji University) : "A careful study of these pieces will revealthe features of design-inlaid porcelain, the most representative type of Goryeo-era celadon."

The site of a roof-tiled building was also found, along with a kiln which appears to have been used for baking celadon pottery during the Goryeo era. Academics believe that it is the site of Anheungchang, one of 12 places where collected taxes were stored before delivery to the Goryeo royal family. Given that the tax storage facility and a kiln were found in one place, it is believed that the finest celadon porcelain was produced at the site.

[Soundbite] Han Jeong-hwa(Buan Celadon Museum, Jeollabuk-do Province) : "In the book "DonggukYeojiji," there is a record on the exactlocation of the Anheungchang site inside this Yucheon-ri fortress."

The Korean Heritage Administration and the Buan-gun County government will continue the excavation and devise measures to preserve the discovered relics.