Study on the Manufacturing Technology of Mural Tomb in Goa-dong of Daegaya Period

Abstract

Rigorous analysis was performed to identify the structure and materials of the murals to study techniques used on mural tombs of ancient Daegaya era(6th century). The murals were painted by applying mortar on the walls and the ceiling after building a stone chamber and creating ground layers on mortar layers. Mud was applied on most of the mortar layers on four sides of the walls except the ceiling. Sand was not used in mortar but was made of materials with pure calcium substances. In addition, shells in irregular sizes with incomplete calcination were mixed; and the mortar's white powder was inferred as lime obtained by calcination of oyster shells. Kaolinite(Al2Si2O5(OH)4) was used in the ground layer, Cinnabar(HgS) was used for red pigment, Malachite(Cu2CO3(OH)2) for green and Lead white(PbCO3•Pb(OH)2) for white. Mud plaster was applied on the mortar and was composed thinly and densely using clayey of particle size smaller than that of medium sand. It was assumed that the finishing was for repair after long time had passed since the mortar layer came off. Using lime made with oyster shells as mortar is unprecedented in ancient Korean mural tombs and its durability was very poor, suggesting that Gaya's mortar production technique was relatively

Current progress on murals: distribution, conservation and utilization

“…For example, the Goa-ri Tomb in the Republic of Korea , has murals that were painted in the sixth century. Many of the wall murals were missing at the time of their discovery, and the remaining murals have immense value as cultural heritage [ 44 ]. Although many other murals in tombs or ancient buildings in Asia may be small and not famous, they are still valuable resources for history researchers [ 45 ].…”

Diagnosis and Evaluation of Conservation State of Mural Paintings in Payathonzu Temple on Bagan Heritage Site in Myanmar

“…The case of research in Korea about the diagnosed murals, includes the mural paintings of Muwisa temple in Gangjin (Chae et al, 2006), Myeongbujeon hall of Jikjisa temple in Gimcheon (Lee et al, 2012), Daeungjeon hall of Jikjisa temple in Gimcheon (Lee et al, 2018a), Buseoksa temple in Yeongju(Haisung Cultural Heritage Conservation, 2019), and studies related to mural production techniques include making techniques of mural paintings in Bongjeongsa temple (Jeong et al, 2008), mural paintings of tomb in Daegaya period (Lee et al, 2014), material characterization of mural paintings in Joseon dynasty (Lee, 2016), manufacturing techniques of bracket mural paintings in Daeungbojeon hall at Naesosa temple (Lee et al, 2018b).…”

Mortar Characteristics for Reinforcement of Ancient Tomb Murals Using Oyster Shells

“…According to Lee et al(2014), the composition of the wall mortar of the mural painting in Goa-ri does not include sand but pure CaCO3, and it contains mix of irregular shells with incomplete calcination. The shells were identified as oyster shells through an analysis, and thus, in this study, oyster shells were used for obtaining conditions similar to the original wall of the mural painting in Goa-ri.…”

“…Studies were also conducted on the conservation state and production methods on the No. 6 mural painting of the Baekje era located in Songsan-li (Han, 2011) and on the conservation state and material characteristics of mural paintings of the Gaya era located in Goa-ri (Lee et al, 2014). Although there has been much scientific research on ancient mural paintings, research on conservation techniques or materials that can cope with the damage on mural paintings is insufficient.…”

“…4 has a mixture of charcoal, clayey weathered soil, and shell in limestone (Lim, 2009). In addition, according to Lee et al(2014), the mortar on the walls of mural paintings in Goa-ri was made of lime, formed through oysters, and contained shell pieces and lime formed through incomplete calcination; this showed low durability. In mural paintings with such low durability, reinforcement reflecting wall characteristics should be applied.…”