SEAArch – The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

28 August 2007 (Vietnam Net Bridge) – An excavation at an archaeological site in Southern Vietnam has yielded some 120,000 artefacts, including eight burials, and more significantly, the site reveals the first time metal casting tools have been found so far south.

Prehistoric bronze, ceramic artefacts found in Khanh Hoa

Recent excavations at the Vinh Yen relic site in Van Thanh commune, Khanh Hoa province, have revealed numerous artefacts that prove the site was a ceramic workshop dating back an estimated 3,000 years.

At the excavation site, archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology and Khanh Hoa Museum found more than 120,000 pieces of ceramic objects including jars, pots and bowls, and about 402 tools used in ceramics and bronze casting.

They also unearthed eight graves that contained bronze, stone and ceramic objects.

This is the first time metal casting tools have been found in the southern central region.

Books about the metal age in Southeast Asia:
- Uncovering Southeast Asia’s Past: Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists by E. A. Bacus, I. Glover and V. C. Pigott (Eds)
- Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History by P. S. Bellwood and I. Glover (Eds)
- The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham

Tags: burials, Institute of Archaeology, Khanh Hoa Museum, Khanh Hoa province, metal casting, Vietnam Archaeology, Vinh Yen archaeological site

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