• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.52-63
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• 2016

The Stupa of Buddhist Monk Soyo in Baegyangsa temple, Jangseong, was erected to pay a tribute to the achievement of the Buddhist monk Soyo, who worked for Baegyangsa temple as a chief monk, and is a bellshaped stupa with the detailed pattern of a Korean traditional buddhist bell. It is composed of pinkish-grey sandstone and the body of the stupa was damaged by longitudinal cracks on the front and back areas and the exfoliation caused break-out in the most part of the sculpture on the left and right areas. According to the ultrasonic test and infrared thermography analysis for physical deterioration diagnosis, most weathering aspects appeared on the body of the stupa and some exfoliated part that could not be seen with the naked eye was detected 6.1% and 5.9% on the left and right side respectively. Hyperspectral imaging analysis was also carried out to assess biological deterioration. According to the result, the surface of the stupa was covered 71.8 ~ 79.9% with vegetation like algae, lichen and moss. NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) was higher relatively on the bottom part near the ground, right and back areas of the stupa. Therefore conservation treatment for the exfoliated part and bio-deterioration is necessary and the environment condition needs to be fixed to prevent extra damages on the stupa.