On the Old Korean Numerals Inscribed on Wooden Tablet no. 318

A wooden tablet designated no. 318 containing a written inscription of 39 graphs was excavated from the site of Mireuksa Temple 彌勒寺 in Iksan 益山, Jeonbuk 全北 Province in 1980. In this paper, these 39 graphs are newly identified, revealing six numerals from the Old Korean language 古代韓國語. These numerals all end with a suffix represented by the graph 𢀳, which originated from the Chinese character 邑. These numerals are given phonetic reconstructions and the suffix 𢀳 is shown to be an ordinal affix. Additionally, the inscription allows us to draw a number of interesting conclusions. It is demonstrated that sequences of Gugyeol 口訣 graphs were already in use by the early 8th century at the latest, that the syllable structure CVC likely existed in Old Korean, that Sino-Korean syllable-final consonant corresponding to Chinese /*-t/ became /*-l/ before the 8th century, and that the graphs 日 and 二, which have Middle Chinese ńź-initial (日母), were used to represent n-initial on this wooden tablet. This suggests the existence of an early layer of Sino-Korean pronunciation, in contrast to the familiar z-initial of the later well-known layer of Sino-Korean.