Built during the reign
of Queen Seondeok of the Shilla Kingdom, this is
the oldest astronomical observatory and
the only stone structure of its kind in Asia. The granite-made observatory is 9.17 meters
high, 3.1 meters in diameter at the top and 5.17 meters in diameter
at the bottom. Twenty-seven layers of hexahedral granite stones
were built up to form
a cylindrical, bottle-shaped tower on a square base, which is 5.35
meters at each side.
A square top made of long stone bars on
top of each other surmounts
the hollow structure. A total of
365 stones were used in its construction.
The number coincides
with the days of a year, and the height of each layer is 30 cm.
Though it appears to lean somewhat the northeast, it is one of the
best preserved Shilla relics. The unique observatory was designated
as National Treasure No. 31.
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