The thousand-year-old Silver Tower, also known as Banh It Tower, stands tall and proud under the dawn, bearing the mark of the powerful Champa Dynasty.
Silver Tower, also known by the familiar name of Binh Dinh people as Banh It Tower, is located on a hill in Dai Loc village (Phuoc Hiep commune, Tuy Phuoc district, Binh Dinh province), about 20km northwest of Quy Nhon city.
Banh It Tower is a large-scale tower complex with the largest number of towers among the 7 ancient Cham tower clusters remaining in Binh Dinh, including 4 architectures: Main tower (Kalan), Gate tower (Gopura), Fire tower (Kosagrha), Bia tower (Posah)
Banh It tower cluster was built around the end of the 11th century, beginning of the 12th century by the Cham people with the name Yang Mtian.
Banh It Tower was ranked as a national architectural and artistic monument in 1982 and was introduced in the book “1,001 architectural works to visit in your life” by a group of British authors, with architectural writer Mark Irving as Editor-in-Chief, published by Quintessence (UK). This is the only ancient architectural work of Vietnam included in this book.
According to researchers, Banh It towers are not just individual towers but also layers of architecture eroded and destroyed over time, and the architectural complex is located on a 75-meter high natural hill, making the overall architecture of the tower cluster massive and majestic.
The main tower has prominent architectural details with a lanceolate dome, decorated with a Kala relief in the middle. The dome frieze depicts the dancing monkey god HaNuMan. The smaller false doors have a Gajasimha relief on the frieze.
In terms of size, the Gate Tower (Gopura) is 13 meters high, on a square base with each side measuring 7 meters; the Beer Tower (Posah) is over 10 meters high, square, 22 meters south of the Gate Tower. The Main Tower (Kalan) is the largest tower on the hilltop, 29.6 meters high, on a square base with each side measuring 12 meters; the Fire Tower (Kosagrha) is 10 meters high, 12 meters long and 5 meters wide.
Front and back views of the two towers at the highest position on the hill: Main Tower (Kalan) and Fire Tower (Kosagrha).
The Main Tower is where the Shiva statue is worshiped, 1.54m high, 1.06m wide, 0.56m thick. The statue is the oldest Cham sculpture in Binh Dinh, in the Chanh Lo style of the 11th century.
Inside the domes of the towers are layers of bricks uniquely arranged in a gradually decreasing pyramid pattern.
In terms of art, among all the remaining Cham towers in Vietnam, Banh It tower is a unique architectural complex with diverse architectural forms, beautiful decoration, and high artistic value. This tower cluster was ranked as an Architectural and Artistic relic in 1982.
Vtcnews.vn
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ve-binh-dinh-ngam-thap-cham-ngan-tuoi-duoi-anh-binh-minh-ar893247.html
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