Microstructure investigation of iron artifacts excavated from No. 3 tomb of Bogam-ri in Naju City, Chollanam-do Province

나주 복암리 3호분 출토 철제유물의 금속학적 조사

No. 3 Tomb of Bogam-ri, in Naju City, Chollanam-do Province, was a site excavated and inspected from 1996 to 1998 and had a various grave forms, including jar-coffins, stone-chambers and stone-cists. Although most of the metal artifacts excavated from it were severely corroded, we could implement microstructure investigation by collecting samples from the iron axes, iron coffin-nails and iron clamps in which the metal parts were remained. The metal structures were inspected by using metallographic microscope and SEM, and fine components analysis was implemented by ICP. To examine the hardness differences in accordance with the structure distribution, we measured the hardness by structures with Vickers hardness testing machine. As a result of the metal structure inspection, most of them were pure iron, ferrite, and also pearlite, cementite and widmannstaten structures were displayed. We could confirm carbonization was formed on the surface of the iron axes-B, iron coffin-nails-B, and iron clamps-A. There was no carbonization in the rest of the artifacts, and it is not certain that whether the carbonized parts were peeled off through extreme corrosion or they were not carbonized when they were made. In the particular part of a blade, the quality of the material was strengthened through processing. Due to the processing re-grain was caused and fine grain particles were formed. As a result of the ICP component analysis, there were no addition atoms because pure irons were used as materials. In the mean time, No. 17 jar-coffin where the iron axes-A are excavated, is chronologically ordered as from the late-fourth century to the mid-fifth century, and No. 1 and No. 2 stone chambers, where the rest of the artifacts were excavated, as the early-sixth century. It was difficult to relate the periodic differences with the manufacture technique artifacts which we inspected because there were no distinct characteristics of the manufacture technique of the metal structures and it is impossible to conclude the artifacts and sites are at the same period although their periods are different.