• Title/Summary/Keyword: Buried cultural heritage

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Analysis of Petrological Characteristics and Lacquer Gilding Materials of the Stone Buddha Head Excavated from the Temple Site No.4 of Yaksugok-Valley in Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju (경주 남산 약수곡 제4사지 출토 석재 불두의 암석학적 특징과 옻칠 도금 재료 분석)

  • Yu Jia;Lee Myeongseong;Lee Eunwoo
    • Conservation Science in Museum
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    • v.30
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    • pp.47-70
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    • 2023
  • In 2019, the first excavation survey was conducted at the Temple Site No. 4 of Yaksugok Vally in Namsan Mountain, Gyeongju to determine the original location of the headless stone Buddha statue and the structure of the temple site. The survey excavated a stone Buddha head that was confirmed in a comparative analysis to be petrologically and mineralogically identical to a headless stone seated Buddha statue found derelict nearby. Traces of gold leaf and black adhesive were found on a portion of the right side of the face of the Buddha head buried in the ground. Since it is exceedingly rare for lacquer and gilding techniques to have been applied to a large stone Buddha statue without a base layer, this study examines the gilding techniques of the time by analyzing the characteristics of the materials used. In this process, the structure of the gold foil was observed through analytical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, and the gold (Au) component was identified. As a result of analyzing the black adhesive using pyrolysis-gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry (pyrolysis-GC/MS), pyrolysis compounds such as hydrocarbons, fatty acids, catechol, and catechol oxidation products were detected. This was identical to the characteristics identified upon analyzing lacquer collected from species of lacquer tree whose main component is urushiol. Therefore, it was confirmed that the stone Buddha head excavated from the Temple Site No. 4 of Yaksugok Valley was separated from a nearby stone seated Buddha statue, and that the gold foil was attached using lacquer sap collected from lacquer trees, which grow in Korea, China, and Japan.

Analysis of Characteristics of the Abandoned Tumulus Site Located at the East Side of the Silla Era Hwang Bok Sa (皇福寺) Site (신라 황복사지(皇福寺址) 동편 폐고분지(廢古墳址)의 성격)

  • Jang, Hojin;Kang, Ryangji
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.53 no.1
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    • pp.88-105
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    • 2020
  • This study examined existing theories of the characteristics of the abandoned tumulus site located at the east side of the Silla era Hwang Bok Sa (皇福寺) site and attempted an archaeological approach based on the derived facts, combining both the results of this study and those of a recently conducted excavation survey. The results of this investigation exhibited the following outcomes. First, the excavation survey revealed that the huge rounded stones discovered on the surface of a rice paddy field located at the east side of the Silla era Hwang Bok Sa were all protecting stones, processed on the front side in the form of a bow, designating a royal tomb. Most of these protecting stones had deviated from their original positions due to subsequent farming practices and some had been re-cycled for construction purposes as fences or foundations for structures built in the Silla era. Considering the prevailing belief in the concept of reincarnation, the bone rank system, and royal authority in the Silla era at that time, it would seem likely that the royal tombs were not intentionally destroyed. Therefore, it is speculated that the stones in this royal tomb were abandoned during construction of the tomb of the King at that time and then naturally re-cycled as building components used in construction sites in later years. Second, this study comparatively analyzed the scale and quality of the supporting stones at the royal tomb site in Guhwang-dong. The analysis results verified that those supporting stones were the same stones from the royal tomb used as supporting stones for statues symbolizing the twelve earthly branch spirits that were restored at the site of the tower at the royal tomb. This confirmed that the statues of the twelve earthly branches spirits sitting at the Hwang Bok Sa site were the protecting stones from a different royal tomb. Accordingly, the conclusion that has been generally accepted to date-that the protecting stones of the statues of twelve earthly branches spirits sitting at Hwang Bok Sa site were probably moved from the royal tomb site in Guhwang-dong-must inevitably be modified. Third, based on the structure of the protecting stones and type of the royal tomb, it is speculated that the individual buried in the royal tomb at Guhwang-dong is one of the kings who followed King Heungdeok and similar times of the buried person of the tomb that was considered as King Gyeongdeok, and who was before the buried person of the tomb that was considered as Kim Yu-sin. In addition, when considering the historical art patterns on the supporting stones of the statues that symbolize the twelve earthly branches spirits, which were moved to the site of the tower at the royal tomb, it is reasonable to believe that the person buried at the royal tomb at Guhwang-dong is likely one of the Kings of the late Silla era of the 9th century.

The Analysis of Organic Residue of Archaeological Evidences (고고 유물에 남겨진 지방의 분석에 대하여)

  • Ahn, Byong Chan;Yu, Hei Sun
    • Journal of Conservation Science
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    • v.4 no.1 s.4
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    • pp.59-66
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    • 1995
  • The living body consists of proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The above components are unstable to the change of circumstances ; thus ; when they are buried under the ground for a long time, they are disintegrated by physical effects such as pressure, water etc. However, it was recently reported that the part of the components of living body, especially fat thought in small guantity, remained in a relative stable state for many milleniuns. In addition, turned out that the structure of the composition of the fatty acid and sterol is different according to their species. For example, the plants - rice, barley, bean - and the animals - (togs, cow, pig, fish - have different structure of fat. Residual fat analysis is a research in the chemical composition of fat vemained in archaeological evidences on the basis of chemical structural differences as mentioned here in above. This paper introduces the residual fat analysis of archaeological evidences practical in Japan.

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Janis Joplin's transgression in blues tradition: focusing on blues performance (블루스 전통에서 바라본 제니스 조플린의 위반 : 공연을 중심으로)

  • Choi, Hayoung
    • English & American cultural studies
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    • v.14 no.1
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    • pp.287-310
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    • 2014
  • While Janis Joplin is generally known as a hippie rock star of an untimely death to Korean audience, she is more strongly evoked in the image of blues mama in American context. Blues, definitely based on African-American vernacular tradition, is defined as a matrix, which is "a point of ceaseless input and output, a web of intersecting, crisscrossing impulses always in productive transit," to borrow Houston A. Baker's expression. This article explores how her life and music can be understood in blues tradition, especially in terms of personal and social transgression for which she was criticized, focusing on her blues performance. First of all, born and growing up in southern Texas between 1940s and 1960s, she expressed her innate suspicion against segregation and white supremacy, actively embracing rich black musical heritage of the area. Second, against the normative social and moral expectation of a middle class white woman to be a suburban housewife, she sought her own desire, whether it was professional ambition or sexual possibility. Third, beyond the selling image of a heterosexually lascivious blues mama, she dared to be a homosexual and bisexual, while it was not publically acknowledged. Along with her alcohol and drug dependence, such transgressions against normative social expectation were not made without her inner conflict, leaving a trace of trauma, hesitation, and the blues. While she was "buried alive in the blues," as a sacrifice at the altar of the 1960s, she still remains "alive" provoking "fire inside of everyone of us."

A Study of Square-shaped moated burial precincts in Korea (한국 방향주구묘의 일고찰)

  • Lee, Won-Gwang
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.33
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    • pp.36-67
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    • 2000
  • Square-shaped moated burial precincts(方形周溝墓) can be classified into type I that has bridges only at the comers, type II that has bridges at the comers and sides, type III that has bridges only at the sides, type IV that is surrounded by the moat without bridges, type V that has its sides less than those of type I ~ V by 1 or 2, and type VI that has the round-shaped ground. But the time differences among the types are not known yet. For the burial appliances of square-shaped moated burial precincts, there are stone coffins, pit burials and jar burials. The major burial appliances situated in the mound are stone coffins and pit burials, and jar burials are subsidiary appliances that were buried at the shoulder part of the mound or at precincts. According to the case of Gwanchang-ri KM423, grave mounds, which arc closely related with the burial appliances, were built by heaping up the earth in and around the precinct as low as only enough to protect the burial appliances. Considering the relics unearthed in the burial compartment of KM437, the time when square-shaped moated burial precincts were formed is estimated to be the age when Songguk-ri type earthenware and clay stripes earthenware co-existed. It was the early Iron Age when ironware began to sp read in this country. Emerging first in that age, square-shaped moated burial precincts were presumably formed until around the end of BC or the beginning of AD, when KM404 and KM423, which were unearthed with plain earthenware, grey earthenware and ironware, were formed. When analyzing the form of small-sized graveyards in precincts, the unearthed relics and the locations, the people who formed square-shaped moated burial precincts were considered as those who had a culture comprising clay stripes earthenware, which appears newly in the Songguk-ri type earthenware of native, and ironware, and a settled agricultural society based on paddy fields and labor forces of family units.

Metallurgical Study on the Iron Artifacts Excavated from Sudang-ri Site in Geumsan (금산 수당리유적 출토 철제유물의 금속학적 연구)

  • Park, Hyung-ho;Cho, Nam-chul;Lee, Hun
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.46 no.3
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    • pp.134-149
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    • 2013
  • The Sudang-ri Site in Geumsan is considered the historic site where Baekje dominated the inland traffic route to Gaya through Geumsan and Jinan in the 5th Century. This study identified the production techniques of iron by conducting an analysis of metallographical microstructure of the artifacts such as an iron sword and an iron sickle that were excavated in Sudang-ri Site, Geumsan, one of the regions ruled by Baekje, and tried to figure out the characteristics and the technical systems of Baekje's ironmaking around the 5th Century by comparing them with other iron artifacts produced around the same time. The analysis showed that various production techniques were applied to the artifacts excavated in Sudang-ri Site, Geumsan. Depending on the production techniques, they can be divided largely into three methods: the simple shape-forging method, the steel manufacture method after forging, and the steel manufacture & heat-treatment method after forging. The iron sickle from the stone chamber tomb No. 1, which was produced only through forging, is mostly composed of soft ferrite at both edges of the blade and at the rear making the use of the weapon impractical. From this fact, it is presumed that they were produced as burial objects or ceremonial accessories for the person buried. The iron axe from the outer stone coffin tomb No. 1 and the iron swords and sickle from the outer stone coffin tomb No. 12, which were produced through the steel manufacture method after forging such as carburizing, did not go through the heat treatment such as quenching, but applied different production processes to each part. Therefore, it is deemed that they were produced as daily tools for cultivation rather than burial objects or ceremonial accessories. The production techniques following the forging process - carburizing and heat treatment - can be found on the iron swords from the outer stone coffin tomb No. 5 and the outer stone coffin tomb No. 12. The sturdy structure of the blade part and the durable structure of the rear processed with heat are deemed to have been produced as weaponry and used by the person buried. Based on the analysis of the iron artifacts excavated from Sudang-ri Site in Geumsan, the characteristics of iron production techniques were investigated by comparing them with the artifacts from Yongwon-ri Site in Cheonan, Bongseon-ri Site in Seocheon, and Bujang-ri Site in Seosan that were made around the same time as the cluster of Baekje tombs examined by the metallographical microstructure analysis of this study. For the iron artifacts analyzed here, the changes in the techniques were investigated using the iron swords common in all of the tombs. In the case of the iron swords, it was identified the heat treatment technique called tempering was applied from the 4th Century.

A Study on the Slit Jade Earring Excavated in the Korean Peninsula (한반도 출토 결상이식(玦狀耳飾) 소고)

  • Lim, Seng Kyeong
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.45 no.4
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    • pp.4-21
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    • 2012
  • Jade ornaments, which include slit earrings, scoop-shaped objects and tubular beads have been extensively identified in Northeast Asia, such as Korea, China, Japan and the Maritime Province of Siberia. Among them slit earrings are distributed in the whole area of Northeast Asia. Although this object shows the typological differences in accordance with the excavated region in detail, all of them are characterised by the slit on the centre of jade ring. The buried context and the shape of this object suggest that this artefact was the earring; thus it is named to 'slit earring'. Most of slit earrings of the Neolithic Age concentrate in Northeast China and the areas south of the Yangtze River, and the Japanese Archipelago. However, unfortunately, Slit earrings, which were produced in the tradition of the incipient and early phases of the Neolithic Age in Northeast Asia, have not been excavated in the Korean Peninsula. The number of slit earrings reported so far is eight, and especially until the 20th century, almost none was reported with its exact excavation location and only three of them are known as excavated through surface surveys and preliminary excavations. However, from the beginning of the 21st century onwards, the number of discovered slit earrings is increasing. Particularly, five pieces of this object uncovered in the 21st century are discovered in the official excavation; thus the exact archaeological context such as buried locations and chronologies could be estimated. By considering the buried context, slit earrings are associated with stone axes, which were produced in the incipient and early phase of the Neolithic Age in the Korean Peninsula. In addition, considering the number of unearthed objects is a few, it could be postulate that slit earring was the artefact that only a few persons, who had a special role in the society, could possess. However, slit jade earrings that have been excavated in the Korean Peninsula are extremely low in their number compared to the cases of its neighbouring countries such as China and Japan, and the researches on this subject have not been much conducted in Korea. Therefore, it is my supposition that slit earrings, which have been discovered in the Korean Peninsula, might be the imported item from the nearby areas. Particularly, the Southern Coast was closely connected with Japanese Islands and the Eastern Coast was interchanged with Northeast China or the Maritime Province of Siberia. Considering that excavations and researches on the Neolithic remains in the Korean Peninsula have not been sufficiently and actively conducted, it could be expected that the further investigations and researches will reveal the sufficient quantities of slit earrings in near future.

Applicability for Authenticity of Bronze Artefacts using Scientific Analyses (과학적 분석을 통한 전세품 청동기의 진위판별 적용 가능성 연구)

  • Do, Misol;Chung, Kwang Yong
    • Journal of Conservation Science
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    • v.29 no.4
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    • pp.355-366
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    • 2013
  • Diverse scientific analyses, including microstructure, ICP-AES, SEM-EDS, and P-XRF(Bench Top type and Gun type), were carried out on 6 bronze artefacts which handed from generation to generation. Also, we attempted to study applicability for authenticity of the bronze artefacts using scientific analyses based on the specific element. The results of ICP-AES analysis showed that the bronze were formed from an alloy of Cu, Sn, Pb with trace elements such as Ag, As, Co, Fe, but there were not Zn found. The result of P-XRF are 10~25% lower in Cu and 10~20% higher in Sn than that of ICP-AES. This is because of destannification that the compound of $SnO_2$ are present on the surface. The results of SEM-EDS represented that there is lead segregation. It was difficult to study applicability for authenticity of bronze artefact according to the microstructures and chemical components of the bronze artefacts. Therefore, as bronze artefacts have shown different corrosion materials depending on the buried environment and conserving environment, identifying the authenticity would be possible on the basis of the additional researches on the corrosion and comparative research of ancient art.

The Research about the Class Structure of the Wooden Chamber Tombs in Gyeongju Region (경주지역 목곽묘의 위계구조 검토)

  • Choi, Su-hyoung
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.47 no.3
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    • pp.60-85
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    • 2014
  • The study is for tracing the mutational process, considering the transformational process of wooden chamber tombs in Gyoungju region during 2~6 century. In addition, class features and the meaning of tombs were studied. First of all, the wooden chamber tombs were classified into 10 different styles(1A~IVC), based on the filling materials, the ways of structure, and the structure of burial chamber. There were only one or two tombs that belongs to the highest classes 'Ga'~'Da' in each period, which has the numeral features. Furthermore, the styles of the central wooden chamber tombs according to the period and the region have distinctive features and have changed so far. It shows that there are the rank among the tombs in the regions. In other words, regarding the ranks of the class 'Ga'~'Cha', there were strict rules and the limitations on the size of the tombs and the number and the quality of the burial relics. It means that the inner-outer size or the structure of the tombs and the number, quality of the burial goods depended on the buried person's birth or social classes, or achievements. Based on Shila social classes, the class 'Ga' tombs were for the highest classes when considered the size, burial relics, and the quality. The class 'Na' and 'Da' tombs were for the higher classes, 'Ma' for middle classes, 'Ba', 'Sa' for lower classes. In addition, 'Ah', 'Ja' tombs were for higher commoner, 'Cha' for lower commoner. Thus, class 'Ga'~'Sa' is the leading class of Shila.

Raman Spectroscopic Study on Corrosion Layers of Archaeological Bronzes (라만분광분석을 통한 출토 청동유물의 부식층 연구)

  • Kim, Beom jun;Chung, Kwang Yong
    • Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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    • v.48 no.4
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    • pp.4-23
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    • 2015
  • Buried bronze objects are naturally corroded by their surrounding environment, which results in producing corrosion layers containing a number of constituents. Corrosion layers in stable condition protect the objects from the environment and also could provide information in terms of the objects. Characteristic and mechanism of the corrosion layers is likely to be valuable information for the conservation treatment. Many research have been conducted to figure out the formation and characteristic of the corrosion layers, but the more research should be conducted with various approach and analytical methods. Raman spectroscopy is one of the analytical methods to identify microcrystal as a compound while other analytical methods are used to identify element. Therefore, the aim of this research is to identify the characteristic of corrosion layers of both excavated bronze objects through the raman spectroscopy. Two analytical methods, which are raman spectroscopy and SEM~EDS, were used to analyse four excavated bronze bowls. In the case of bronze bowls, malachite was found from the exterior corrosion layer and albite, quartz, and microcline, which are minerals, were also found. Cuprite was detected from the interior corrosion layers illustrating slightly different spectrum due to the combined compound. Lead segregation shows the form of PbO, $PbSO_4$ and $PbCO_3$ or it replaced as cuprite. In this study, small number of samples were analysed. This research is likely to be useful information to figure out not only the characteristic of the corrosion layers but also the authenticity of the artifacts if relevant research will be conducted. Therefore, further comprehensive researches on the various archaeological objects and corrosion environment condition are required in the future.