Three-story Stone Pagoda in Hyangsan-ri, Danyang

This pagoda stands in the middle of a field in a mountain valley, 16 km east of Danyang-eup. Scattered fragments of pottery and roof tiles around the site indicate that this was once a temple site, though no other trace of the temple remains. Around 1935, the pagoda collapsed after sari (Buddhist relics) enshrined within it were stolen, and it is said that villagers later re-erected it. The pagoda consists of a three-storey body set on a two-tiered platform. The platform is formed of several long, large stones laid as a base, on which the tiers were built up, with pillar-shaped carvings placed at each corner and at the centre of each side. In the body of the pagoda, the main stone and roof stone of each storey are each carved from a single block. The main stones also bear pillar-shaped carvings at each corner, and notably, the first-storey main stone alone bears a carving in the shape of double doors, which draws attention. The roof stones have four tiers of eave supports on their undersides at every storey, and two tiers of stepped blocks are placed on top of each roof stone. The undersides of the eaves are straight, and the slope of the upper roof surfaces is likewise gentle, so that the lines at the four corners stand out clearly. Of the finial at the top, the noban (a dish-shaped base for the finial), bokbal (an ornament shaped like an upturned bowl), anghwa (an ornament shaped like an open lotus flower) and boju (an ornament shaped like a lotus bud) survive. The pagoda's form is excellent and its proportions well balanced, and its carving technique faithfully follows the style of Unified Silla stone pagodas. A beautiful work with a well-composed form, it is thought to have been built in the late Unified Silla period.

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Where it is

Region

Danyang, Chungbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물