Thi Nai Lagoon should be considered as an archaeological site.

Ancient ceramic products salvaged from Thi Nai lagoon - Photo: DINH BA HOA

In recent years, people who specialize in diving to search for scrap iron at Thi Nai lagoon in the Quy Nhon seaport area (Binh Dinh) have accidentally found many ancient ceramics.

Including Sa Huynh pottery, terracotta pottery, Champa glazed pottery, brown earthenware, blue glazed pottery of the Ming Dynasty and pottery of the Le - Nguyen period.

Many precious ancient ceramics at the bottom of Thi Nai lagoon

The ceramic artifacts brought back include various types of vases, bowls (all sizes), plates (all sizes), pots, teapots, basins, incense burners... with materials including terracotta, earthenware and glazed ceramics from celadon to blue glaze.

Terracotta pottery includes: round bottom pots, teapots, incense burners.

These artifacts are all light-fired earthenware, light red in color, thin-walled, with moderately hard bones, all of which are household items.

In terms of origin, in my opinion, the ceramic products have many different origins, including prehistoric ceramics in the Han style; thick ceramics with square-shaped engraved patterns, a teapot, and a pot made of Chinese ceramics around the 18th century, and a Champa tile made from the 13th - 15th centuries.

The rest are Vietnamese ceramics produced in Binh Dinh folk pottery kilns in the 18th - 19th centuries.

Ancient ceramic products with beautiful colors and patterns - Photo: DINH BA HOA

Ceramics include vases and jars including brown ceramics, glazed ceramics such as celadon, dark brown glaze and eel skin, which are Ming Dynasty vases from the 14th - 15th centuries.

Brown earthenware is a product of the Viet Chau Phuc Kien pottery kiln in the 13th century. According to divers, this type of earthenware was found in layers in the lagoon, possibly from a sunken ship.

Glazed ceramics are types found in Thi Nai lagoon in quite large quantities, including types such as unadorned jade-glazed bowls, white-glazed bowls and plates with blue-and-white wire patterns and irregular patterns, all of which are Ming-dynasty ceramics from the 14th - 15th centuries, Qing-dynasty ceramics from the 17th - 18th centuries, and even 19th-century folk ceramics.

Think of an archaeological site

With over 100 ceramic artifacts of various types including prehistoric terracotta, Champa, Ming-dynasty glazed ceramics and Vietnamese ceramics found in Thi Nai lagoon, this is a reliable source of material materials to research the role of this ancient port.

A corner of Thi Nai lagoon - Photo: LAM THIEN

Material documents show that Thi Nai port not only played a military role but also was a commercial port - a place for trade and exchange of goods between the Sa Huynh people, the Champa people and later historical periods.

In addition to the recorded items of merchants who came to exchange, it shows that the main items exchanged were ceramics - items that Chinese and Japanese merchants came to exchange and trade with this region.

It can be thought that Thi Nai lagoon is not only a commercial port, but also an archaeological site that needs to be further studied in the future.

Thi Nai Port is an ancient trading port recorded in many historical books of China and Dai Viet. Records show that Thi Nai Port in the Champa period and Thi Nai later was both a military port and an important trading port from ancient times to the later Nguyen Dynasty.

There have been many monographs about this ancient port, but only through recorded historical sources for evaluation and research.

The discovery of a series of pottery of many different types gives us a glimpse into the commercial aspect of this port in history.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dam-thi-nai-can-duoc-xem-xet-nhu-di-chi-khao-co-hoc-20240617180706846.htm