Stone Basin at Bowonsa Temple Site, Seosan

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.102

Category

Architecture

Era

통일신라시대

Designated year

1963

Location

서산시, 충청남도— 충청남도 서산시 운산면 용현리 106

Coordinates

36.762294, 126.602346

This rectangular stone basin is located at the Bowonsa Temple site. Little is known about the history of this temple except that it was also called Goransa Temple. However, it has attracted considerable public interest since the Rock-carved Buddha Triad in Yonghyeon-ri, Seosan (National Treasure No. 84) was found here in 1959. Buddhist monks used round, octagonal, and rectangular shaped basins such as this one to store water. Made of a single block of granite, it exhibits the typical plain style of stone work of the Unified Silla period, having no decoration at all on its outer surface. The flat bottom of the basin has a round outlet with a diameter of 8cm. It is not clear whether this basin lay half buried underground as only the inside and upper part of have been properly trimmed while the outer surface bears traces of rough trimming. The basin’s huge capacity, sufficient to store up to 4 tons of water, hints at the scale of the temple.

Location