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Sumanotap Pagoda of Jeongamsa Temple, Jeongseon

정선 정암사 수마노탑 ( 旌善 淨岩寺 水瑪瑙塔 )

Heritage Search Detail
Classification Treasure
Name of Cultural Properties Sumanotap Pagoda of Jeongamsa Temple, Jeongseon
Quantity 1 pagoda
Designated Date 1964.09.03
Age Goryeo
Address 1062, Hambaeksan-ro, Gohan-eup, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do

The seven-story stone brick Sumanotap Pagoda is erected on the slope of a mountain behind Jeongmyeolbogung Hall of Jeongamsa Temple. In general, stone brick pagodas were built with stones cut and trimmed into bricks. The pagoda consists of a six-layered stylobate made of granite, a seven-story main body placed on two-tiered supporting stones, and a finial. The main body is made of grey-green limestone that resembles bricks due to its well-arranged surface. The niche for enshrining the Buddha statue is situated in the southern side of the core stone of the first story, and has a stone door made of one piece of stone to which an iron-ring door handle is attached. The roof stone with narrow eaves turns up swiftly at the ends of the eaves, under which wind chimes hang. The roof stone of the first story has a seven-tiered cornice, and from the second floor, the number of cornices decreases with each story. Also, the number of tiers of the upper surface of the roof stones decreases by one as the cornices started from nine tiers for the first story to three tiers for the seventh story. As for the finial, a bronze ornament sits on top of the pagoda. The stone bricks are not large but display a refined and sophisticated style. A stone placed in front of the pagoda is engraved with a lotus flower design and symbolic images of elephant eyes, a characteristic feature of art during the Goryeo Dynasty. During the dismantling and restoration of the Sumanotap Pagoda in 1972, five stone plates containing a record about the construction of the pagoda and sarira reliquary made of gold, silver, and bronze were discovered, revealing that the pagoda underwent a series of repair works up until the late Joseon Dynasty. Although it is not certain when the pagoda acquired its present appearance, it is thought to have been erected during the Goryeo Dynasty, judging from the many relics remaining at Jeongamsa Temple.