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This work has metallographically examined three forged iron artifacts from the Wolsanni tomb complex constructed by Silla, and identified a pattern in the engineering sequences applied in their manufacture. The specific distribution of such phases as martensite, pearlite and ferrite consistently observed in their microstructure shows that the artifacts were manufactured in a sequence of shape-forging followed by steel-making. This is unique in that shape-forging comes before steel-making as opposed to another sequence where shape-forging comes after steel-making. The choice between these two, determined by the nature of available steel-making and iron-smelting processes, apparently played a crucial role in characterizing a local iron industry in ancient Korea. This article will compare the Wolsanni results with those of the Hwangnam Great Tomb of Silla and the Kaya tomb complex at Daeseongdong, Kimhae, and will propose that Silla and Kaya had developed a similar iron industry based on the production of low C iron and the particular steel-making by carburization. The invention of special iron artifacts named Cheoljeong must have been a necessary requirement for such unique iron technology to be successfully established.
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