Three-story Stone Pagoda at Bonjeoksa Temple Site, Taebaek

The Bonjeoksa Temple site, also known as the Beonjeoksa Temple site, lies amid many other former temple sites in the area. Scattered around it are the components of a three-storey stone pagoda with a two-tier foundation, along with fragments of roof tiles. The foundation members recovered are the base stone, laid as a footing, and stones from the lower and upper tiers of the foundation. The face stones of the lower and upper foundation tiers carry carved corner pillars and supporting pillars, and the capstones, which cover the foundation like a lid, each have a two-tiered block to support the storey above. Two roof stones and two body stones from the pagoda's main body have been found. The underside of the roof stones carries four tiers of supporting brackets, with two further tiers above. The body stones carry carved corner pillars. A finial-pole hole in the smallest roof stone shows that this was a three-storey pagoda. The finial itself, the ornamental top of the pagoda, has not been found. Taking into account the proportional diminishment typical of stone pagodas of the same period, the height from the base stone to the third-storey roof stone is estimated at about 2.97 m. Stylistically, this pagoda is thought to have been built between the end of Silla and the beginning of Goryeo. Together with the Buddhist remains found throughout the Taebaeksan Mountain area, it is valuable evidence for tracing the routes and timing by which Buddhist culture spread.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Taebaek, Gangwon

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료