A Study on the Sword and Spear of Gaya Excavated in Gimhae and Busan
Authors:   Yeongnam Archaeological Review, Lee Seonghoon 
Published: February 2025

Sword and Spear are a weapon made with blades on both sides. Depending on the handle or handle to be joined, it can be used as a short weapon of sword(鐵劍) or a long weapon of spear(鐵 槍) for weaponry. Since most of the swords(鐵劍) and spears(鐵槍) excavated from the ruins of the Three Hans and Three Kingdoms period on the Korean Peninsula are actually made of wood, it is not easy to distinguish between short weapons and long weapons at present. The distinction between short weapons and long weapons is an important factor that can make a big difference in tactical operation in the battlefields of the Three Kingdoms era, where various weapons are used and the composition of weapons is complicated. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly classify the swords, which have been vaguely reviewed as swords(鐵劍) or spears(鐵槍) so far, into short weapons and long weapons.
In this paper, a study was conducted on the major remains of Gimhae and Busan in the lower part of the Nakdong River, where the most swords and spears were excavated in the Yeongnam region over a long period of time between the Three Hans and Three Kingdoms period. First of all, each relic was reviewed and classified into a type, and the temporality was examined. Next, by reviewing the burial pattern, the evidence was presented whether swords and spears of the same form could be divided into a swords(鐵劍) of short weapon and a spears(鐵槍) of long weapon.
The characteristics of swords(鐵劍) and spears(鐵槍) by period and type are summarized as follows.
Equation Ia in Periods Ⅰto Ⅲof type ‘Ⅰa’ is a dagger, which is a dagger used on the waist or chest. It was used as a stabbing weapon using a chopping method or a stabbing method. It can be seen that it is positioned as an auxiliary weapon in the combination of ‘short weapon(auxiliary weapon)’ + ‘long weapon(main weapon)’ during this period, as there are many cases in which the spear(鐵鉾) is shared with one relic along with Ⅰto Ⅲof type ‘Ⅰa’.
Ⅴto Ⅵof ‘Ⅰa’ and ‘Ⅰb’ types are cutting weapons optimized for cutting with spears(鐵槍) of the weaponry. Although the a single-edged swords(鐵刀), which are single weapons, are shared together to form a combination of ‘short weapons’ and ‘long weapons’, there are many cases in which they are shared with bows and arrows or are excavated alone as their main weapons. Unlike the ‘Ⅰa’ and ‘Ⅰb’ types(spears 鐵槍) of the Ⅴto Ⅵweapons, the Ⅰa and Ⅰb types(swords 鐵劍) were weapons that functioned as both long weapons and main weapons.
The ‘Ⅱb’ type long sword(長劍), which is confirmed from the Ⅲportion, is a cutting weapon optimized for cutting. As there are many cases in which a spears(鐵鉾) is shared with one relic, such as the dagger of the Ⅰto Ⅲof ‘Ia’ type, it can be seen that it is positioned as an auxiliary weapon in the combination of ‘short weapon(auxiliary weapon)’ + ‘long weapon(main weapon)’. In particular, it can be seen that the long sword of the Ⅶwas a practical short weapon and an auxiliary weapon for personal self-defense in light of the case of the common decorative swords(裝飾大刀).