A set of Baekje decorative roof tiles, or chimi (치미, 鴟尾), discovered in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province, was revealed to the public for the first time at the National Palace Museum of Korea on Nov. 3.
The ancient tiles were found on the site of the Wangheungsaji (왕흥사지), a Buddhist temple constructed in A.D. 577 by King Wideok (위덕왕, 威德王) (525-598), the 27th ruler of Baekje, during an excavation conducted in 2013 and 2014. The tiles were unearthed from the site of the eastern seungbang (승방, 僧坊) building, the living quarters of the Buddhist monks. Two tile pieces were retrieved from the northern and southern ends of the building. While ancient roof tiles have been discovered at other historical sites, like the Goguryeo Tomb Murals and Pyeongyang’s Buddhist temples, this is the first time that tiles from both sides of the roof ridges were found together at the same site.
The top part of an ancient roof tile is unearthed at the southern end of the seungbang (승방, 僧坊) building at the site of the Wangheungsaji (왕흥사지), a Baekje Buddhist temple in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province.
The bottom part of an ancient roof tile is unearthed at the northern end of the seungbang (승방, 僧坊) building at the site of the Wangheungsaji (왕흥사지), a Baekje Buddhist temple in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province.
Archeologists believe that the tiles fell off the roof and got damaged on the ground. Only the top half of the tile was discovered at the southern end, while only the bottom half was retrieved at the northern end. By combining the two halves, researchers have been able to recreate a 3-D image of a connected roof tile standing 123-centimeters tall and 74-centimeters wide. The tile is decorated with carvings of lotus flowers, cloud patterns and other motifs taken from nature. The top of the tile is said to curve upward like the tail of a bird about to take flight.
Researchers assembled 3-D models of the top and bottom halves of the roof tiles found at the Wangheungsaji (왕흥사지), a Baekje-era Buddhist temple, in Buyeo, Chungcheongnam-do Province.
A researcher from the Buyeo National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage said, “We predict the tiles were made when the Wangheungsaji temple was first constructed, in the 500s. We were only able to find top and bottom halves of the tiles from the northern and southern ends of the building roof. It appears they were halved for the kiln and then assembled on the roof. The tiles provide many hints about Baekje architectural techniques and Baekje building structures, especially during the Sabi period (사비기) (A.D. 538-660), which witnessed the flowering of Baekje’s arts and culture.”
The roof tile will be on display at the National Museum of Korea as part of the Baekje Cultural Heritage exhibit from Nov. 29 to Jan. 30, 2017.
By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Cultural Heritage Administration
hlee10@korea.kr
