• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.228-241
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• 2021

Cremated archaeological bones provide crucial information to unravel the details of ancient cremation events and funeral culture. The research on cremated bones to date has been mainly focused on extracting archaeological information in Korea. Recently, the techniques of physical anthropology have been applied to obtain biological information and cremation temperatures for individuals. This study analyzed human remains excavated from Seoul Seokchon-dong Ancient Tombs and determined whether there were human cremations as well as the estimated cremation temperatures. There was no trace of fire in the pits where cremated bones were found; therefore, it is assumed that they were deposited with the artifacts. In this study, four samples were selected according to the surface color of the bones, and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) were used for analysis. All four of the Seokchon-dong cremated bones were found, based on the crystallization index of X-ray diffraction analysis, to have experienced cremation above the temperature of 700℃. Infrared spectroscopy results indicated that the four bones from Seokchon-dong were cremated at temperatures above 700℃ and below 1,000℃. IR peaks were observed at 700℃, whereas no changes were found when bones experienced more than 1000℃. We assume that the cremated people in the Seokchon-dong Tombs were people of high-status because cremation at such a high temperature at that period required much effort. Here we present significant evidence of the cremation status and temperature of archaeological human bones on the basis of XRD and FT-IR, allowing for the restoration of the cremation events and funeral culture in archaeological sites.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.65-69
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• 2015

Teeth and bones are very resistance to high temperatures and remain recognizable even after prolonged exposures to heat. The effects of heating and burning on teeth have been studied with the aim of discerning a characteristic signature withstanding high temperature, but there have been few studies about a human cremated ash, especially Korea. We are recognizable by elemental composition and can be detected in human cremated ash samples by Scanning electromicroscopy/Energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis(SEM/EDS), cremated, at $800{\sim}900^{\circ}C$ for 1 hour. In this temperature range, different crystals morphologies(spherical, irregular and hexagonal) are observed in SEM. Calcium(Ca) and oxygen(O) increases steadily after cremation in EDS. We suggest that cremated bone have been provided with calcium oxide(CaO) formation at temperature above $900^{\circ}C$. This study offers basic data to assess the structure and elemental compositions of human ash and to determine if these remain identifiable after exposure to extreme temperatures.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.54 no.6
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• pp.671-687
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• 2021

This study investigated the firing temperature and thermal deformation process of roof tiles excavated from the connected stone-mound tomb in Seokchon-dong, Seoul, based on mineralogical and physical properties. A large number of roof tiles were excavated from the tomb site and some roof tiles were deformed by heat and were fired in uneven conditions. The colors of original roof tiles and their cores are mostly yellowish-brown, with high water absorption over 12%, containing fine-grained textures and some minerals such as quartz, feldspars, amphibole, and mica. It is estimated that the original roof tiles were fired below 900℃ in oxidation condition, showing loose matrices and mica layers by scanning electron microscopy. However, deformed roof tiles have the uneven surface color of reddish-brown and bluish-gray, and those cross-sections have sandwich structures in which dense reddish-brown surface and porous grey core coexist. They contained mullite and hercynite, so it was estimated to have been fired over 1,000℃, with 0.81~11% water absorption. In some samples, bloating pores by overfiring were observed, which means that they were fired at more than 1,200℃. In addition, the refirng experiments that the original roof tile was fired between 800℃ and 1,200℃ were carried out to investigate the physical and mineralogical properties of roof tiles compared to deformed ones. As a result, the water absorption decreased rapidly and the mineral phase started to change over 1,000℃. As the temperature gradually rises, the matrices are partially melted and recrystallized, resulting in similar thermal characteristics of deformed roof tiles. Therefore, the roof tiles from ancient tombs in Seokchon-dong seem to experience the secondary high temperature of 1,000 to 1,200℃ under uneven firing conditions, resulting in deformation characteristics such as shape transformation and mineral phase transition. It is considered to have been related to cremation rituals at the tombs of Seockchon-dong during the Baekje period.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.546-555
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• 2019

The purpose of this study was to improve the performance of the bogie-type crematory, which is the mainstream of domestic crematory equipment. A field scale technology was investigated via increasing the volume by changing the shape of the furnace and reducing the cremation time and saving the energy usage through the optimization of burner combustion control. First, the optimized structural design through thermal flow analysis increases the volume of the main combustion chamber by about 70%, which increases the residence time of the combustion flue gas. A designed pilot crematory was then installed and the combustion behavior was tested under various operating conditions and the optimum operating plan was derived from for each furnace shape. Based on the results, the practically applicable crematory was designed and installed at Y crematorium in the P City. Optimal combustion conditions could be derived through operating the demonstration crematory furnace. The crematory time and fuel consumption could be minimized by increasing the energy efficiency by increasing the residence time of high temperature combustion flue gas. In other words, the crematory time and fuel consumption were 38 min and $21.8Nm^3$, respectively which were shortened by 44.1 and 54.4% lower than that of the existing crematory, respectively.