Three-story Stone Pagoda at the Third Temple Site in Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju

This stone pagoda, which had collapsed, was restored in 2002 by assembling its components after two rounds of excavation carried out between 2000 and 2001; the pieces below the finial base stone (nobanseok) are the original surviving stones. As there are no documentary records concerning the Third Temple Site at Jigok in Yongjanggye Valley on Namsan Mountain, no evidence has yet come to light establishing when the three-story stone pagoda at Yongjanggye Valley Jigok was built. However, around the pagoda site nine inscribed roof tiles have been excavated, including one bearing the character 茸 (yong), suggesting a connection with Yongjangsa Temple (茸長寺). At Yongjangsa Temple Site (the First Temple Site in Tapsanggok Valley) a three-story stone pagoda, a rock-carved seated Buddha, and a stone seated Buddha have been handed down, and it appears that several temples once stood across the surrounding area. Various relics, including roof-end tiles excavated at the Third Temple Site in Jigok, indicate that the temple here was established in the latter half of the ninth century, during Unified Silla, while fragments of buncheong ware (a grey stoneware with white slip decoration) and white porcelain found around the pagoda site show that the temple continued in use through the Goryeo period and into the Joseon period. This pagoda is a jeontap-style stone pagoda — a stone pagoda built in imitation of a brick pagoda (jeontap) — with its base built from eight large square stones and its roof stone formed of a single piece; the complete absence of decorative ornamentation sets it apart from typical Unified Silla stone pagodas. In detail, a base stone made of seven pieces supports eight foundation stones divided into upper and lower tiers of four each. Above the upper tier is a three-stepped support for the pagoda body, its lower corner broken; on this support sits the first-story body stone, a single piece, and at the four corners of the roof stone above it are holes where wind bells once hung. The second-story body stone is likewise a single piece, while the third story is formed where the upper edge of the second-story roof stone's drip line meets the lower edge of the third-story roof stone. Korea's brick pagodas are found mainly around Andong, but stone pagodas resembling brick construction, similar to this one, are concentrated in the Gyeongju area, forming a distinct regional pattern. Together with the Three-story Stone Pagoda in Seoak-dong, Gyeongju (treasure) and the East Three-story Stone Pagoda in Namsan-dong, Gyeongju (treasure), this pagoda shows the locational characteristic of having been built in the Gyeongju region, particularly around Namsan Mountain, forming a single lineage of 'jeontap-style stone pagodas' among Korean stone pagodas. This pagoda belongs to the mojeontap lineage (stone pagodas imitating brick pagodas); its date of construction can be estimated by comparison with the Seoak-dong stone pagoda and the East Three-story Stone Pagoda in Namsan-dong, both currently designated as treasures. Although partly damaged, it retains its finial and remains in its original location, and its overall appearance is in good condition, giving it value as state-designated heritage (treasure).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Treasure · 보물