National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Korea Basic Science Institute Extend Research Exchange and Cooperation

Provenance of Gyeongbokgung Blue Roof Tiles Identified,
Iksan Ssangneung Stone Analysis
"Scope of Isotope Analysis and Dating to Be Expanded"

Blue roof tiles excavated from Gyeongbokgung Palace of the Joseon Dynasty

The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage announced on November 28 that it has extended its agreement with the Korea Basic Science Institute to advance the field of cultural heritage analysis and promote research exchange and cooperation. The agreement is valid until November 27, 2028. An official from the institute stated, "We plan to further expand the scope of isotope analysis and dating."

Since their first agreement in 2018, the two institutions have continued joint research and technological cooperation in the fields of isotope-based provenance analysis and dating. A representative achievement is the analysis of blue roof tile glaze excavated from the sites of Jamidang, Sojubang, Heungbokjeon, and Jipgyeongdang in Gyeongbokgung Palace. The analysis revealed that the main component of the glaze is lead, and that the blue roof tiles were made using lead supplied from lead mines in Seosan and Chungju, Chungcheong Province.

The collaboration has also extended to the study of ancient tombs. Through indicator mineral dating (minerals used to determine the quarry source of rocks) and trace element analysis of stones from the Iksan Ssangneung and Jangsu Dongchon-ri tombs, the stone sources were precisely identified. The stone chamber of Iksan Ssangneung was confirmed to be made of biotite granite. The constituent mineral 'sphene' was found to have been quarried in Hamyeol-eup, Iksan, about 9 kilometers from the tomb. For the Jangsu Dongchon-ri Gaya Tomb No. 28, dating and compositional analysis of the constituent mineral 'zircon' suggested that the stones were quarried from the Palgong Mountain area in Jangsu.

Inside the stone chamber of Ssangneung in Iksan

The installation and operation of new analytical equipment recently introduced by the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage is also a result of cooperation between the two institutions. In particular, pottery and roof tile samples fired at temperatures above 900°C showed signal distortion in optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating based on quartz. It was concluded that dating is only possible when the firing temperature is below 900°C.

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