Initial preliminary results on 2 ancient boats in Bac Ninh

The area where the ancient "double-hulled" boat was discovered

The area where the two ancient boats were discovered is a pond in the yard of a household in Cong Ha quarter, Ha Man ward, Thuan Thanh town, Bac Ninh. When the homeowner was renovating this pond, while dredging the mud at the bottom of the pond, the excavator hit a strange object. After gradually revealing the image of the strange object that looked like a boat with a "huge" length, suspecting it to be an antique, the homeowner decided to notify the authorities.

Currently, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Bac Ninh has coordinated with the Institute of Archaeology and the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences to send experts and experienced teams to conduct emergency excavation and archaeological work. The area zoned for excavation of the two ancient boats is about 1,000 square meters.

At a recent rapid assessment workshop held in Bac Ninh, managers, experts and scientists discussed and contributed ideas focusing on two issues: one is the initial assessment and evaluation of the value of the relic; the other is proposing solutions to preserve and promote the value of the ancient boat relic.

Experts and researchers surveying the site are excavating and studying the ancient boat.

At the scene, in the role of leading the excavation team, Dr. Pham Van Trieu informed that, according to the survey and initial assessment, it is likely that these are not two separate boats but a double-bottomed boat, also known as a "double-bottomed boat" or "double-hulled boat". The structure of this ancient boat is very unique not only in the country but also in the world. Although at this point, we still have to wait for the results of Carbon-14 analysis samples and some other related studies to be able to accurately conclude the age of this boat, but according to experts, this is one of the most valuable, rare and unique discoveries in the history of Vietnamese archaeology.

Sharing more about the structure and materials used to build the boat, Dr. Pham Van Trieu said that this double-bottomed boat has a length of 16.2m - width of 2.25m - depth of about 2.15m, divided into 6 compartments, the bottom of the dugout canoe, the upper body is joined together with mortise and tenon wood and pegs. In particular, the 2 hulls of the boat are joined together very firmly at the bow of the boat. The connection between the 2 hulls of the boat is considered extremely solid and sturdy with high-level mortise and tenon techniques. Notably, all the nails used to build the boat are made of wood, there are no metal nails. According to observations, the material used to build this ancient double-bottomed boat could be Tau mat wood. This is a rare type of wood, very hard and strong, with beautiful wood grain and especially a lifespan of up to thousands of years. The wood body is super hard, the wood grain is fine and small, light brown in color and turns dark gray after a long time. Wood is naturally termite resistant and durable in all environmental conditions.

Experts also determined that it is necessary to continue investing in comprehensive research, expanding the scope of excavation, determining the surrounding landscape space, studying the relationship with neighboring spaces to identify the value, on that basis, proposing appropriate solutions to preserve and promote the value of the relic. Currently, the most optimal solution suggested by scientists is urgent preservation in situ due to the large size and weight of the boat. Preservation is suggested in a number of directions such as: the area needs a roof system to avoid weather conditions that damage the boat after it is discovered; building a tank wall around the discovered area, with water to preserve the original state...

It is expected that the excavation of this ancient double-bottomed boat will be carried out within 1 month, from now until April 3, 2025.

HQ (according to Capital Security)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/ket-qua-so-bo-ban-dau-ve-2-chiec-thuyen-co-o-bac-ninh-408257.html