Bone Armor Discovered in Mongchontoseong Fortress

The bone armor displayed in the exhibition was found in Mongchontoseong Fortress. Armor was a protective clothing designed to protect the body and legs from enemies’ attack.

The ancient Korean armor can be largely divided into two types based on their shape. Plate armor was made by connecting many pieces of plates, while scale armor was by attaching tens or hundreds of scale-like steel pieces. In comparison to plate armor, scale armor offers greater mobility.

The bone armor we are looking at now is a type of plate armor. While most of the plate armors were made from metal pieces, this armor was made using cow bones.

Upon closer inspection of the cow bone pieces that compose the armor, you will notice that they vary in size. This is because each part of the body was precisely measured, and each part of armor was produced separately. Not only do the sizes differ, but the diameter of each connecting hole was also made differently, displaying a very well-crafted and detailed piece of armor.