Petrological Characteristics and Nondestructive Deterioration Assessments for Foundation Stones of the Sebyeonggwan Hall in Tongyeong, Korea

The Sebyeonggwan Hall (National Treasure No. 305) is located on the Naval Headquarter of Three Provinces in Tongyeong, and it has partly undergone with several rebuilding, remodeling, repairing and restorations since it's the first establishment in Joseon Dynasty (AD 1605) of ancient Korea. This study focuses on 50 foundation stones that comprise the Sebyeonggwan. These stones are made of six rock types and currently have various shapes of the surface damages. As the foundation stones, the dominant rock type was dacitic lapilli tuffs, and provenance-based interpretation was performed to supply alternative stones for conservation. Most of the provenance rocks for foundation stones showed highly homogeneity with their corresponding stones of petrography, mineralogy and magnetic susceptibility. According to surface deterioration assessments, the most serious damages of the stones were blistering and scaling. The deterioration mechanism was identified through the analysis of inorganic contaminants, and the primary reason is considered salt weathering caused by sea breeze and other combined circumstances. Based on the mechanical durability of the stones, there was no foundation stone that required the replacement of its members attributed to the degradation of the rock properties, but conservation treatment is considered necessary to delay superficial damage. The foundation stones are characterized by a combined outcome of multiple petrological factors that caused physical damage to surfaces and internal defects. Therefore, it’s required to diagnosis and monitoring the Sebyeonggwan regularly for long-term preservation.