Scientific Analysis and Conservation Treatment of the Ancestral Tablet Excavated from the Site of Gongpyeong, Seoul

Abstract

Scientific analysis and conservation treatment were conducted on two ancestral tablets excavated in whole form the site of the 15th and 16th districts (B area) in Gongpyeong, Seoul. As a result of scientific analysis, a rectangular empty space was confirmed inside the ancestral tablet that could not be seen with the naked eye. It was a form of manufacturing and combining a main body and a prop composed of the front side and the back side, and the tree species of all the members of the two ancestral tablets were identified as Castanea spp.. It is supposed that the two ancestral tablets excavated from the Gongpyeong site were manufactured in accordance with the standard and shape similar to the contents of “Garye”, which has records on the production of ancestral tablets. The excavated ancestral tablets were immersed to the final 40% using PEG#2000 by applying the PEG immersion method, and dried using a vacuum freeze dryer. After drying, disparate things such as PEG and soil remaining on the surface were removed, and PEG#4000 15% (in ethyl alcohol) was applied to the surface once to the surface to strengthen the surface. A slight crack was observed in a part of a prop of one of the two ancestral tablets, and it was restored using epoxy-based resin, color-matched, and conservation treatment was completed.