The Small-but –powerful State: Gaya Confederacy and Geumgwan Gaya

These artifacts were found in the complex of ancient tombs in Gimhae. Many pottery vessels had stems; and the triangular or square cut-outs in the stem are unique features of this pottery.
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This type of pottery has only been found in the south-east of the Korean Peninsula, but the styles of the vessels differ from region to region. Each region was organized into a different polity. Each of their name includes ‘Gaya,’ and it indicated that they were members of the Gaya Confederacy, in much the same way that ancient Greece was composed of many independent city-states including Athens and Sparta.

These are relics from Geumgwan Gaya, the early leaders of the Gaya Confederacy, which existed from the 1st to the early 6th century. Gimhae was the seat of Geumgwan Gaya. It had an impressive iron industry based on abundant deposits of iron ore and advanced iron manufacturing technology. Moreover, Geumgwan Gaya was a powerful trader of iron products, using its international trade port in Gimhae to connect with both China and Japan.