Chungcheongnam-do

Eventually all the iron tools and weapons were made of only iron and diversified in functions and uses according as the lives of people became more complicated when the ancient kingdoms appeared in Korean history before and after the Common Era. Among those iron items, Hwandudaedos which were found all over the territories of Goguryeo, Shilla and Baekje are a kind of sword. The iron weapons made a great advance especially after the 3rd Century through the competitions between those 3 countries. Hwandudaedos came into the spotlight as an ornament for showing the high status of their owner and met their heyday around 4~5th Century.

The Hwandudaedo found in the tomb of King Muryeong is the only remain by which the buried identity is known. That Hwandudaedo has a loop at the end of the handle dedicated with the figure of phoenix and golden thread wrapped on the handle of the sword. Picturing of it by the most advanced digital camera revealed that there are 800 small gold particles on the handle along with W shape.

Particles are so elaborately processed as to have diameter less than 0.5mm per particle and those particles are attached to the handle by the welding technique, a technique to melt a metal a little and attach to the plate.
Considering the historical fact that King Muryeong hadn't participated in any war, he might have owned several luxurious Hwandudaedo swords to display his dignity. Sometimes weapons with round loop at the end were so efficient because owners could tie the loop with a string to their wrists showing the strong will not to be disarmed by their enemy.