Chau Thuan Bien village, Binh Chau commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai has long been called by many people as the "antique fishing village", because the fishermen here own many valuable antiques salvaged from ancient shipwrecks far out at sea.
Mr. Truong Trang, a farmer in Chau Thuan Bien village, Binh Chau commune, Binh Son district, points to the patterns on a ceramic plate - an antique salvaged from the wreck of ancient shipwrecks in the Quang Ngai sea. Photo: Tan Thanh.
Mr. Nguyen Van Vuong, also in Chau Thuan Bien village, said that this place is famous as an "antique village" because in every house's cupboard there are vases, jars, cups, and ceramic bowls of many different ages.
Every household, every person, has hundreds of households collecting antiques. Unique and valuable in that people bring them back mainly to display and rarely sell.
Holding the ceramic bowl in his hand, Mr. Vuong said: “I picked this up while diving for seafood, and the original patterns and motifs are still intact. Many people, while diving or casting nets, often pick up pieces of ceramics, terracotta jars, and charred wooden planks from ships.
There are also people who pick up artifacts that wash ashore after each storm season. Of course, people accidentally discover and pick them up, but when it is determined that a shipwreck contains artifacts, the government will organize protection and make a plan to salvage and preserve them.
“Not only do I like to collect intact ceramic pieces, I also like to collect broken pieces of ceramic to decorate my house. Each piece of ceramic has its own motif and pattern. Gradually, I learned more about the meaning of the patterns, the age of the ceramics and I appreciate what I have even more,” said Mr. Vuong.
Villagers do not buy or sell antiques.
Not only Mr. Trang and Mr. Vuong, but many people in Chau Thuan Bien village said that villagers do not buy and sell antiques but only support each other in exchanging according to their interests. Or exchange antiques for fishing gear, machine oil, etc.
Mr. Phung Ba Vuong - Chairman of Binh Chau Commune People's Committee said that in Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien village, there are nearly 300 households, of which more than 150 households collect and display antiques. Since 1999, thousands of antiques discovered from shipwrecks in the Binh Chau sea area have been collected by many people for display.
"Most of the antiques collected by local fishermen were while they were diving on the seabed in the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa waters of Vietnam or the Cu Lao Cham waters, Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province," said Mr. Vuong.
Mr. Vo Hoai Nam - Chairman of the Quang Ngai Province Cultural Heritage Association said: "In Ganh Ca hamlet, there are up to 30 people participating in the Provincial Cultural Heritage Association. Most of them are very knowledgeable about antiques, especially ceramics."
According to Mr. Nam, to determine the age of an antique object, it is necessary to rely on the details of the pattern. For example, the crackle glaze, the age, the symbols, the motifs... Then based on that and the knowledge you have read, you can know which year it belongs to, which King's time...
According to Dr. Doan Ngoc Khoi - Deputy Director of Quang Ngai Provincial Museum, in Binh Chau sea area, experts have discovered many ancient shipwrecks, but only excavated 2 shipwrecks.
The wreck is located about 200 meters from shore, at a depth of about 5 meters. Archaeologists recovered many artifacts from the 2013 excavation, dating back to the 14th century.
As for the ship excavated in 1999, the artifacts are mainly from the 17th century. The excavation of the artifacts inside this shipwreck is valuable material for Vietnam's underwater archaeology.
Dr. Khoi added that archaeological experts believe that Binh Chau sea area once had a bustling trading port.
Ships came to Binh Chau to exchange goods and then burned or were sunk by storms. Therefore, this area has many ancient shipwrecks. Nowadays, Binh Chau people, while working at sea, pick up ancient objects and bring them home to display for tourists to see.
When we left Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien village, we were forever impressed with this land, impressed with the fishermen who stick to the sea day and night and preserve the antiques. They have turned Ganh Ca hamlet, Chau Thuan Bien hamlet into an extremely valuable "antique fishing village", a destination for tourists who want to visit and learn about precious antiques.
Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung - Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province said that households in Ganh Ca hamlet currently preserve and maintain many valuable antiques.
Recently, the unit has coordinated with Binh Son Heritage Association to build a community tourism destination for antiques in Binh Chau.
We chose this as a destination for tourists to visit and study antiquities. A very special address that not every place has.
Source: https://danviet.vn/lang-co-vat-o-quang-ngai-vo-nha-nao-cung-la-liet-do-co-co-hien-vat-co-600-nam-tuoi-chua-day-bi-an-20250318132826636.htm
Comment (0)