Species Identification and Tree-ring Dating of Wooden Elements in Seongjeonggak of Changduk-palace, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

This aimed to species identification and tree-ring dating of wooden elements used in the Seongjeonggak of Changduk-palace, Seoul, Korea. All 50 wooden elements were confirmed to be <i>Pinus</i> subgenus (Hard pines). Increment cores of the wooden elements were collected using a drill for tree-ring dating, and mutual compatibility of dendrochronologies were constructed using statistical and graph comparison methods. As a result of tree ring dating, The chronologies of 30 Pinus subgenus wooden elements were matched to each other and to the standard chronologies. In addition, some wooden elements had bark revealing the following logging dates: early spring 1774 – early spring 1777. The obtained felling date of the 1770s were found to be consistent with those in the construction and repair records of the Ilseongnok (Records of daily reflections) and Seungjeongwon’ diary (The daily records of royal secretariat of Joseon dynasty). However, the obtained outermost dates of the 1881 were not consistent with those in the construction and repair records. Therefore, additional confirmation of repairs that were not included in the records was possible using tree-ring dating.