A Petrological Study of Stones Used in the Three Storied Stone Pagoda of Bulguksa Temple

In this study, the stone used for three storied pagoda of Bulguksa Temple, which is easy to access due to works for dismantle and restore will be analyzed on the basis of petrographic study, magnetic susceptibility, and -ray spectrometer, and identify petrographic characteristics. Also we will select candidate areas of fresh rock to change the stone used for three storied stone pagoda as from its provenance is presumed. According to the results of visual inspection, the stones used for the three storied stone pagoda are similar to the features of Namsan granite, which is distributed around Gyeongju-si, and when it comes to the section of the stupa finial, the features of all the parts from the stupa finial is similar to Namsan granite except for the section of Jeweled cover. On the other hand, the color, the composition, and the mineral size of the stones in the section from the part of jeweled cover are similar to Tohamsan granite. As a result of none-destruction inspection, it seems that the stones used for the three stories stone pagoda except for the section of jeweled cover are similar to the values for the magnetic susceptibility and the -ray spectrometer. On the other hand, Jeweled cover and the values of Tohamsan granite are alike. Namsan granite is appropriate in case that the stone used for three storied stone pagoda must be replaced to fresh rock because of damage by weathering. Meanwhile, Namsan granite is seperated from Yangsan fault. Due to this fact, Namsan granite appears to not only Mt. Namsan in Gyeongju, but also Dongcheon-dong, Gyeongju, and Huenggok-ri, Pohang. As a result, these two areas are suitable to the candidate area to change the stone used for three storied stone pagoda.