Khanh Hoa is one of the provinces where many vestiges and archaeological sites were excavated. Archaeologists nationwide are familiar with Khanh Son...
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| Dai My bronze drum (Ninh Than, Ninh Hoa District) |
Khanh Hoa is one of the provinces where many vestiges and archaeological sites were excavated. Archaeologists nationwide are familiar with Khanh Son musical stone instrument, Xom Con Culture, Hoa Diem Vestige… and will soon be informed of the so-called Van Tu Dong Vestige.
Before 1975, Khanh Hoa Province used to be known as a “white land” on an archaeological map. However, after the Liberation Day, the Culture and Information Department in cooperation with many central agencies, particularly the Institute of Archaeology found many interesting things about the prehistoric and proto historic period in Khanh Hoa Province. The most outstanding archaeological achievement is Khanh Son musical stone instrument. Khanh Son is a land of musical stone instrument. Doc Gao (Khanh Son) is a vestige workshop. Another amazing discovery is Xom Con archaeological site (Cam Ranh District). The excavation opened a new door to the study of prehistory and proto history in Central Vietnam. From many remains such as stone working tools, jewelry, pottery…archaeologists define that Xom Con is another culture, different from Sa Huynh Culture. It is thought that Xom Con belonged to the early period of Sa Huynh but it proved untrue. Xom Con surely contributed greatly to the formation of Sa Huynh Culture. Xom Con is one of the earliest cultures in Central Vietnam…. The finding is an advanced step of Vietnam archaeology providing evidence that Khanh Hoa is of long cultural development. In 1993, the Service of Culture and Information in cooperation with Vietnam History Museum published a book about Xom Con culture in the prehistoric and proto historic period in Khanh Hoa Province. This book is highly appreciated by archaeologists. What a pity that Xom Con Archaeological Site was not well preserved, so not many of the remains exist.
Moreover, in recent years, Khanh Hoa Province is also famous for Hoa Diem Vestige (Cam Thinh Dong, Cam Ranh District), which was excavated twice in 1999 and 2002. The discovery proved the presence of Sa Huynh people in Khanh Hoa. The special feature of Hoa Diem is that a residential place is also a burial place. According to researchers, the age of Hoa Diem Vestige lasted from 1st and 2nd Century BC to 1st and 2nd AD. The characteristics of the remains showed the continuity of culture with some traditions from Xom Con Culture (pottery) to Sa Huynh Culture (jars, gold jewelry, iron…). Some analyses have been done on the samples of Hoa Diem Vestige, but what a pity that no publication on Hoa Diem Vestige has been found so far.
In the survey at the end of October 2005, Khanh Hoa Provincial Museum and Institute of Archaeology discovered more vestiges, Hoa Diem cemetery, Mieu mound (Cam Thinh Dong - Cam Ranh District) and Van Tu Dong Vestige (Cam Hoa, Cam Ranh District), which will be excavated by April 2006 yielding a great collection of valuable items. The vestige excavation is very meaningful as once these vestiges are excavated, Hoa Diem will become an attractive eco-tourism address.
Besides the archaeological vestiges mentioned above, 5 bronze drums belonging to group 1 Dong Son were found in Khanh Hoa Province. Among them, Dai My bronze drum (Ninh Than, Ninh Hoa District) was estimated to be the largest and the most beautiful ever found in Central Vietnam. In addition, many ancient coins, cannons…were discovered. Khanh Hoa Province is really a land of archaeology. The relationship between Khanh Hoa and archaeology is closer and closer with many promising results.
N.T
