1400 Years Silent: Baekje Transverse Flute Unearthed
Creatrip Team
a month ago
Archaeologists at the Buyeo royal site (Baekje capital) in Chungnam have uncovered a transverse bamboo flute (횡적, horizontal flute) dated to roughly 568–642 CE — the first physical wind instrument found from the Three Kingdoms period and the oldest such instrument discovered in Korea. The flute, recovered from a pit thought to be a latrine near a palace meeting hall, is partly broken (about 30% missing) and has manually made holes; reconstructions were played at a presentation. The earlier date than similar Japanese finds strengthens evidence that cultural elements from the Korean peninsula reached Japan. Excavations also yielded 329 wooden tablets (목간, mokgan — wooden slips used as official documents) from the mid-6th century, the largest single-site haul in Korea, including date notations and administrative entries that illuminate Baekje state organization just after its capital moved to Sabi (Buyeo) in 538. Researchers say the finds are crucial for understanding Baekje music, administration, and cultural transmission to neighboring regions.
