World's oldest surviving observatory survives 5.8 earthquake

5.8 지진 견딘 첨성대, 문화재 당국 조사 벌여 The epicenter of yesterday's earthquakes, Gyeongju is also known as a kind of open-air museum... home to a great number of artifacts, relics, and monuments from the Silla dynasty. Despite some worrying video footage, according to our Hwang Hojun, the tremors left those national treasures unharmed. Footage from countless cameras around the country captured the intensity of Korea's strongest earthquake ever recorded. One of the most extraordinary was the security camera footage at Cheomseongdae, an ancient astonomical observatory and national treasure, as it swayed to the intense vibration. As day broke Tuesday, visitors started to gather around the 7th century structure to see whether it survived the night intact... and they were amazed by its durability. "It's really impressive how it's still standing after the earthquake. And this was built like 13-hundred years ago." The National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage sent a team of investigators to check on any possible damage sustained by the world's oldest surviving observatory. Officials said the reason Cheomseongdae was able to survive such powerful seismic activity is its earthquake-resistant design. "Cheomseongdae has a round foundation and it's also very symmetrical. This makes the structure quite sturdy and helped it endure the tremor." Inspectors searched meticulously for any cracks that had widened... or distortions in the structure of the monument that date backs to the height of the Shilla dynasty. They said the results of the inspection will be made public soon. According to the Richter scale, last night's tremors were strong enough to cause damage of varying severity to poorly constructed buildings. But Cheomseongdae, the ancient observatory built about 1300 years ago is still standing strong. Hwang Hojun, Arirang News, Gyeongju. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS):   / newsarirang   Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook:   / arirangtv   Twitter:   / arirangworld   Instagram:   / arirangworld