Sangori Seven-story Stone Pagoda, Sangju

Basic information

Designation

Treasure No.683

Category

Sites & Pagodas

Era

고려시대 초기

Designated year

1980

Location

상주시, 경상북도— 경북 상주시 화북면 상오리 699번지

Coordinates

36.537660, 127.902086

This is the main part of the pagoda reconstructed in 1978 after it had collapsed during Japanese colonial rule. Some say that this was the site of Janggaksa Temple but there is no record to support this. It is usual to divide a pagoda into three parts, the platform, the main section, and the finial. This pagoda a typical one with a seven-story main section supported by a two-story platform. It stands in the middle of an earth-wall formed by leveling off the earth around the platform and framing it with stone. The platform that holds the main part of the pagoda is made of several stone slabs. The main part of the pagoda gets narrower at a fixed ratio as it goes up. The first story consists of three layers of stone with engravings of a pillar pattern on the corners and a door pattern on the eastern part. From the second floor to the top, the roof and the core stone are assembled into one. Every story up to the fifth has a five-layer strut for the roof. However, the number of layers in the strut decreases to four when it reaches the sixth and seventh stories. The eaves of the roof make a lovely upturn at each angled position. The balance between the platform and the main part of the pagoda is awkward but the main part is still elegant. The only remaining part of the finial is the square base of the decoration. The refinement and magnificence of the overall structure reflect to some degree the style of the Silla era and provides grounds for the assumption that the pagoda was built during the early Goryeo Dynasty.

Location