• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.250-273
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• 2020

The three-story stone pagodas in Hyeon-ri and Hwacheon-ri,Yeongyang Gyeongsangbuk-do are stone pagodas that exhibit the typical style of Unified Silla. The two pagodas are believed to have been built in the mid- and late 9th centuries at the latest, considering the style of the three-story roof stone on top of the double-tier base. This is also confirmed by the reliefs carved at the base and the first-story of the pagoda. The Four Heavenly Kings and the Twelve Zodiacal Animal Deities were first combined in the late 8th century in the stone pagoda at the Wonwonsa Temple Site, and the Eight Classes of Divine Beings was also the most popular carved pagoda reliefs in the 9th century. However, the two Yeongyang stone pagodas are characterized by a combination of the Four Heavenly Kings (1st story), the Eight Classes (top base), and the Twelve Zodiacal Animals (lower base), and the stone used for the pagoda consists of sedimentary rocks of the sandstone family, which comprise most of the geological strata in the Yeongyang area, rather than ordinary granite. The new combinations of the three types of guardian deities and the Eight Classes changed from seated to standing poses is interpreted as an attempt to enhance the Buddhist faith and cultural status of the Yeongyang area, along with the fact that the stone pagoda was built using local natural materials. The Eight Classes of the Yeongyang stone pagoda does not follow the two types of arrangement of the pagodas with the Eight Classes, but some of the deities have been relocated to a new location. Composed of AsuraGandharva on the east side, Naga-Mahoraga on the south, Deva-Garuda on the west, and Kimnara-Yaksa on the north, this form can be classified as a unique 'third layout of the Eight Classes' in the Yeongyang area. Such changes in the shape and posture of the reliefs reflect a new perception of the pagodas. The reason why the Gandharva and Yaksa statues were carved on the east and north sides, respectively, was because they were deemed subordinate to the Four Heavenly Kings, and the fact that the Naga and the Mahoraga were carved on the south side was presumed to have influenced the geographical location of the two pagodas on the northern side of Banbyeoncheon Stream. The Hyeon-ri and Hwacheon-ri three-story stone pagodas inherited the tradition of typical Unified Silla-period pagodas, while also bearing their own new regional characteristics.