Chairman
"It is necessary to ensure that all are well-versed particularly in the history and culture of Koguryo, which was the most powerful state in the East."
The history and culture of Koguryo, which was the most powerful country in the East, can be well understood through the study of historical relics and remains of this age.
The Taedonggang Wooden Bridge Relics, which was built across the Taedong River between Chongho-dong in Taesong District and Hyuam-dong in Taedonggang District, Pyongyang, is of great significance in the historical study of Koguryo.
It was unearthed in 1981 and is estimated to have been built in the period of Koguryo Kingdom according to the features of the earthenware, tile pieces and other relics.
Radiocarbon dating was carried out on the wood used to build the bridge to confirm the absolute age of the Taedonggang Wooden Bridge Relics.
Two wooden frames in good preservation weighing 100 grams repectively were taken from the excavated logs to measure radiocarbon dates. The samples had been buried in the soil for a long time, and some of the outer layers had been carbonized and decayed, but the interior layers were relatively well preserved.
After removing the contaminants on the surface of the sample they were dried and dry-distilled into charcoal, and 14C radiometric sample preparation, radiometric measurements, and dating were performed by benzene liquid scintillation counting; the results are shown in following table.
As shown in the table, the 14C year of the measured wooden samples are 1770 ± 100yBP, and the more probable year of the ones obtained by calibration with high-precision calibration curves is the year of calAD280-calAD320.
