Three-story Stone Pagoda at Mitansa Temple Site, Gyeongju

The Mitansa Temple Site, where this pagoda stands, was an urban temple established within the royal capital during the Unified Silla period, and was likely a temple that played an important role given its location. This is confirmed by its central position within the royal capital, together with textual records and excavated remains: roof tiles inscribed with the character "味吞" recovered during excavation showed that this was the site of Mitansa Temple recorded in the Samguk yusa, and parts of the temple precinct, including a presumed main hall site, lecture hall site and south gate site, have been identified. The three-story stone pagoda at Mitansa Temple Site stands 6.12 m tall and is made up of 35 stone members in total. Until 1980 it lay collapsed, with some members of its base and body missing, but in 1980 the surviving members were gathered and the pagoda restored, newly cut stones being fitted in to replace the lost pieces. In the course of this work the form of the foundation of Silla stone pagodas was clarified, and it is still used as reference material whenever the foundations of Silla stone pagodas are discussed. Although the use of new stone to reinforce and replace damaged or missing members creates a visual disparity between old and new material, this pagoda is the only stone pagoda surviving within the Silla royal capital and the first stone pagoda whose foundation was investigated; with its orderly form and well-balanced proportions, it is of great historical and academic value. The pagoda also shows the typical Unified Silla stone-pagoda style in the process of change, carrying transitional features. In the ninth century, or the early tenth century, when it is thought to have been built, stone pagodas tended to shrink in scale compared with earlier periods; contrary to this trend, the pagoda is unusually large for works of similar date, which is one reason for its importance. Overall, with its double-tier base and well-judged proportional diminution, it is an outstanding work that conveys a sense of solemn weight. In particular, unlike the rammed-earth technique generally used for stone pagodas, the foundation was built by a distinctive method in which rubble and clay were compacted and fired layer by layer, each course being hardened before the next was laid, and objects buried for geomantic purposes were found within the core of the base; these unusual, academically valuable features give it fresh evidence of great importance to the study of Korean stone pagodas.

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Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물