Efforts to preserve the value of ancient stone steles

The hundred year old steles

Currently, the Provincial Museum preserves 5 stone steles, of which 2 are engraved with ancient Cham characters and 1 is engraved with Chinese characters. According to our research, the two steles with ancient Cham characters were found during the excavation of antiquities in Cam Thinh Dong commune (Cam Ranh city) in 1997. The content recorded on the steles basically provides information about King Vīrabhadravarmadeva who ruled the Champa kingdom from 1441 to around 1444 or 1446. To know more details about the content of this ancient stele, the Provincial Museum stamped the words on paper and sent them to India for translation by experts.

The good news is that these two ancient steles are both quite intact. The first stele is made of coarse-grained granite , rectangular and narrow on one side, 100cm high, 90cm wide above, 60cm below, average thickness 25cm; on the surface of the stele there are 9 horizontal lines of letters, each letter is 4cm wide, each line is 5cm apart, the type of letters engraved on the stele is Sancrit commonly found on ancient Cham steles. The second stele is also made of coarse-grained granite , rectangular with a tapered end, 168cm high, 105cm wide above, 25cm below, average thickness 20cm. The stele has two remaining lines of Sancrit letters, but unfortunately many of the letters are blurred and out of focus, making it difficult to identify the content.

The ancient Chinese stele was discovered in 2003, on Thuy Xuong Street (Phuong Sai Ward, Nha Trang City) during the process of Khanh Hoa Water Supply and Drainage Joint Stock Company workers renovating the domestic water system. The stele is made of coarse-grained granite , and is entirely engraved in Chinese characters, the characters are still quite clear, but the content has not been specifically translated. The stele has a rectangular shape with sharp edges, 155cm high, 52cm wide, 10.5cm thick, and 25cm thick at the thickest point; the surface engraved with Chinese characters is quite flat and relatively smooth, the back surface has the shape of a turtle's hood.

In addition, the Provincial Museum also has two restored steles, one of which is a restoration of the Vo Canh stele, a four-sided cylindrical natural stone block, but only three sides are engraved with Brahmi characters. The other stele is a restoration of the stone stele at the Ponagar Tower Special National Monument; made of granite with a rectangular shape, square pillars, four relatively equal sides, and engraved with ancient Cham characters on one side.

Preserve to promote value

According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong - Director of the Provincial Museum, the unit has a plan to preserve these stone steles, especially the 3 ancient steles to limit the impact of the climate environment, as well as other physical impacts. The requirement in the process of preserving artifacts is to follow the procedures and regulations on professional work. When moving artifacts, absolute safety must be ensured, avoiding impacts and collisions on the artifacts. The preservation of these stone steles is mainly to handle dirt, impurities, and oxidation stains on the surface of the artifacts. In addition, the letters are stamped on Do paper to serve the translation of the 3 ancient steles which are the original artifacts. From the translated content, the explanatory content will be written and introduced to visitors.

In recent days, the staff of the Provincial Museum have begun to “treat” the stone steles. Using knives, scissors, brushes, cotton, sponges, do paper, ink, tape, glue, distilled water, various disinfectants, and antibacterial chemicals, each staff member meticulously cleaned the artifacts, removing soil, dirt, harmful bacteria, and mold. After completing the cleaning process, the characters on the three ancient stone steles will be stamped onto do paper and photographs of the artifacts will be taken to serve the translation of the content recorded on the steles. The Provincial Museum has contacted domestic experts, as well as research institutes that translate ancient Cham characters and Han characters to clarify the content engraved on the stone steles. From there, there will be a basis for assessing the historical and cultural value of the ancient steles currently kept at the museum, as well as serving the propaganda and introduction later. “We are well aware of the value of these ancient stone steles, so we are making efforts to determine the specific content. From there, we can gain more information about history and culture through the content recorded on the steles. In addition to our professional duties, we also wish to introduce and promote these valuable artifacts in thematic exhibitions so that the public can know the value and meaning of these ancient stone steles,” said Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong.

With the efforts of the Provincial Museum, we hope that people and tourists will soon be able to see and learn about these hundred-year-old steles. This is also a way for us to return to the past of the land and people of Khanh Hoa in ancient times.

FAMILY