Flagpole Supports at Bowonsa Temple Site, Seosan

When a temple held a ceremony such as a prayer service or dharma assembly, a flag called a dang was hung at the temple entrance; the pole from which this flag was hung was called a danggan, and the pair of stone posts that supported the danggan on either side are called flagpole supports (danggan-jiju). This site was once a temple, and although the surrounding area has now all become farmland, fragments of roof tile are still occasionally turned up when the fields are ploughed. The supports stand on the eastern side of the temple site, facing each other about 70cm apart. The inner faces are undecorated, but along the edges of the outer faces a broad band has been carved. The upper part of each post is rounded off from the inner to the outer edge, and the posts widen slightly as they go down, giving a sense of stability. On the facing inner sides of the supports, a square groove is cut in the centre of the top, and a square hole is also bored near the base, both used to fix the flagpole in place. The base stone that supported the flagpole is rectangular and made of two tiers, with a round hole cut in the centre of its upper surface for inserting the pole. The style and carving technique are ornate, decorative and highly developed, suggesting that this is a work of the Unified Silla period; the surrounding relics, which date from the end of Unified Silla to the early Goryeo period, support this dating.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seosan, Chungnam

Designation

Treasure · 보물