Unexpected discovery under 1,000-year-old Cham tower

TPO – Authorities have discovered and collected a large number of relics including 4,807 specimens, mainly architectural materials, architectural decorations, steles, stone reliefs, enameled pottery, porcelain, terracotta, metal coins... when exploring and excavating the Lieu Coc twin towers - a Cham tower about 1,000 years old in Huong Tra town, Thua Thien-Hue province (TT-Hue).

At the end of April, the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien Hue province coordinated with the National Museum of History to conduct an archaeological survey and excavation of the Lieu Coc twin towers, covering an area of ​​about 80 square meters. After 3 months of survey and excavation of the Lieu Coc twin towers in Bau Thap area, Huong Xuan ward (Huong Tra town), up to now, the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien Hue province and the National Museum of History have obtained unexpected results, with a lot of valuable information and relics.

The results of the archaeological exploration and excavation have completely revealed the traces of the architectural foundation of the North Tower and determined the location of the Gate Tower, the surrounding wall system and the internal roads in the relic. At the same time, the excavation has also brought many typical types of relics from the ground, contributing significantly to the research and awareness of the relic as well as suggesting many issues that need to be further studied and expanded to clarify the entire scale, structure and nature of the relic.

The expert unit identified two main towers in the relic. If this assessment is correct, it can be affirmed that Lieu Coc twin towers are a special relic, the only one in the Champa relic system with two main worship towers. To have more information as well as to accurately determine the age of the relic, the archaeological team proposed to continue excavation (phase 2). Photo: HD

Authorities have collected a volume of relics including 4,807 specimens, mainly focusing on architectural materials, architectural decorations, stone stele fragments and reliefs, enameled pottery, porcelain, earthenware and metal coins.

Regarding architectural materials, there are 3,936 specimens, including bricks and tiles, of which bricks account for the majority with 3,920 specimens, and tiles have only 16 pieces. Photo: TH

The architectural decorations found at the site are mainly decorative accents on the corners of the towers. A total of 50 pieces were identified with bull-head decorations, including 2 intact artifacts, 11 bull-head pieces, 2 bull-mouth/nose pieces, 22 mane pieces and 13 pin pieces.

The stone relics found include 4 specimens, including 1 Buddha statue head and 3 pieces of stele inscription. The stele is made of yellow-gray sandstone, with a smooth surface, including 2 pieces of the stele face, engraved with ancient Sanskrit characters, and 1 piece of the side of the stele. The statue head is in the form of a relief, made from purple-gray slate on one side, depicting the head of a Buddha statue with the remaining dimensions of 20cm high, 15cm wide, and 10cm thick.

Pottery was found in many different forms and materials, such as crude pottery, earthenware, porcelain (including 3 Champa lime pots, 9th - 11th century, still relatively intact), Vietnamese enameled pottery (dating from 14th - 19th century), Chinese porcelain (17th - 19th century).

1 coin discovered, round coin (diameter 2.5cm), square hole, chipped edge. One side is embossed with 4 characters "Nguyen Phong thong bao" written in cursive style, read clockwise, dated 13th century.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hue province, this is a valuable collection of artifacts. After being researched, edited, appraised and scientifically documented, it will provide a lot of important information, helping with research and display to promote its value.

According to research, Lieu Coc Twin Towers is a typical construction of Champa culture, estimated to be about 1,000 years old, and was ranked by the Far Eastern Archaeological Institute as a valuable relic in Vietnam and Indochina. In 1994, the relic was ranked as a National Architectural and Artistic Relic. The authorities recommended that in the long term, there should be a project to preserve and promote the value of the relic, making Lieu Coc Twin Towers an attractive tourist destination in Hue.

Ngoc Van