Stone Reliquary from Temple Site in Neungsan-ri, Buyeo

A Baekje container for relics, found beneath the site of the wooden pagoda at the centre of the Neungsan-ri temple site. When excavated it was already damaged and held no relic vessel. It is tunnel-shaped, round at the top and flat at the bottom, 74 cm high and 50 cm wide and deep. The niche is hollowed about 45 cm high, with a ledge that seems to have held the relic set and a door. Ten characters are carved on each side of the niche in a clerical-script style of the Northern and Southern Dynasties of China. The inscription is understood to say that it was made in 567 by King Chang (King Wideok), son of King Seong, who took the throne in 554, and that the princess — King Seong's daughter and King Chang's sister — made the offering of the relics. It is a new epigraphic source for Baekje history and shows something of the cultural exchange between Baekje and China. Its date and donor are certain, and it is the first object of its own time to reveal the founding date of a Baekje temple, which makes it of great importance.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Buyeo, Chungnam

Designation

National Treasure · 국보