Flagpole Supports at Bomunsa Temple Site, Gyeongju

At Buddhist temples, a banner called a dang was hung at the entrance during ceremonies, mounted on a pole called a danggan; the pair of stone posts that support this pole from either side are known as danggan-jiju, or flagpole supports. This site became known as the location of Bomunsa Temple after roof-tile fragments inscribed with the characters for "Bomun" were excavated here, and the flagpole supports stand to the south-west of the site. The two posts face each other about 62 cm apart; the top part of the northern post has broken away, while only the southern post remains intact. Holes for fixing the flagpole are set at three points — top, middle and bottom — and unusually, the holes in the southern post are bored all the way through, while those in the northern post are only bored halfway. Overall these flagpole supports are slender and elongated in form, yet they convey a sense of stability. Relatively small in scale compared with other such supports, they are a very plain and simple work of the Unified Silla period.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물