Thirteen-story Stone Pagoda at Jeonghyesa Temple Site, Gyeongju

A pagoda on the site of Jeonghyesa at Gyeongju: thirteen storeys on a single earth-built tier, a form with no parallel in the Unified Silla period. The first body stone is enormous, and from the second storey up both body and roof stones shrink so sharply that everything above the first reads as a finial set on a one-storey pagoda. The great first body stone has square pillars at its four corners, with secondary pillars set inside them to frame a door. Making a door like that seems to express a wish for an open space within. The supports under the roof stones are separate stones rather than carved, and the eaves run straight until they lift lightly at the four corners. Only the base of the finial remains at the top. It is thought to date from around the ninth century. Thirteen storeys are rare and the base departs from the usual form, which makes it a valuable document for the study of pagodas of its time. It keeps its old appearance well, and the sharp reduction above an emphasised first storey gives the whole thing a settled quality.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

National Treasure · 국보