• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 1974

U-Reuk, a laureate musician in the days of King Jin-Heung, Silla Dynasty, built the Eui Rim Reservoir about 1,400 years ago. This was one of the oldest man-made reservoir. The embankment of the reservoir collapsed by the clumsy artificial drainage on August 19, 1972 when the heavy rainfall of 462 mm/day caused a dangerous overflow of the reservoir. The result of the study on the mystic ancient embankment techniques are as follows: 1. Sandy loam derived from the weathering of granite which is the most widely distributed rock type in the area, was used in the embankment. Large size logs (embankment core) of 30-50 cm in diameter were buried lengthwise along the embankment. 2. The six stocks of Pinus densiflora, 3 stocks of Quercus acutissima, 1 stock of Quercus variabilis and 1 stock of Popolus maximowiczii, altogether 11 stocks are identified. Forest types in the nearby area during the days of the reservoir construction seem to be includde a considerable number of Pinus densiflora, Quercus and Populus species. 3. The angle of repose of the earth materials is taken into account during the embankment. On top of the embankment double layers of clay (20-30 cm indepth) were spread and consolidated. Layer of litter of 20-40 cm in deep covered on the clay layer of the embankment completely, and another layer of clay was consolidated over the litter. Finally, a layer of stones of 10-30 cm in diameter and clay (yellow soil layer) toped the embankment. 4. At the lower part of the embankment clay layer was thicker and became thinner as it goes upwards. At every layer, soil was consolidated and burned. When embankment was completed, it was covered evenly with heavy clay, and finally it was topped with general soil. 5. The heavy clay layer on the inner slope of the embankment showed gray phenomena and litter remained raw humus layer. The clay layer functioned as rubber in the water, and raw humus layer prevented water from seepages. Thus, the embankment was solidly built in this way. 6. The ancient embankment techniques used soils conveyed from nearby area taking the angle of repose into account. Once embankment was completed, clay and litter layers were added to have a plasticity and to withstand the water pressure. 7. It is an excellent technique that the reservoir was constructed with least labor for maximum effects while the recent embankment techniques requires a large amount of labor.