SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

A farmer in Vietnam is steadily gaining a reputation for recreating the famous Dong Son style bronze drums, found ubiquitously all over Southeast Asia from 500 BCE.

Ancient drums find new life
Thanh Nien News, 01 March 2008
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13 September 2007 (Thanh Nien News) - Besides mentioning the three cannons posted yesterday, other finds mentioned here include a bas-relief of a naga, a snake-deity in Hindu mythology, and a bronze Dong Son drum.

More relics found in central Vietnam

Several historical artifacts – including guns, bas-reliefs and a bronze drum – have been unearthed in three provinces on Vietnam’s central coast.

Local residents in Thua Thien-Hue province have recently discovered three guns at the site of the ancient Hoa Chau citadel in Quang Thanh commune, Quang Dien district.

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06 August 2008 (Vietnam Net Bridge) - This piece of alarming news comes from the Dak Lak province, where Dong Son drums have been recently discovered, and how as many of 50 of them have been illegally excavated and smuggled out.

Many ancient bronze drums being illegally excavated

In the past four months, 50 bronze drums have been unearthed and transported illegally out Krong Nang district in Dak Lak province, said doctor Tran Quy Thinh from the Vietnam Archeological Institute.

Of these, the only one that is yet to be sold is at present being kept by Nguyen Thi Dieu from Xuan Vinh commune. Ms. Dieu has asked Dak Lak Museum for VND100million (US$6,000) for the ancient drum.

The drum, which was discovered in Ms. Dieu’s garden, is a Dong Son Drum Type 1, which dates back 2,200 years. The surface’s diameter is 65 cm, and the diameter of the bottom is 67 cm.

This is considered the most intact of all the ancient bronze drums that have been discovered in the Central Highlands of Dak Lak so far. Archeologists have recently restored another smaller Type 1 bronze drum found in the district of Krong Pack, where other 3,000-year-old artifacts have also been discovered.

More information about Dong Son drums can be found in:
- The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham
- Dong Son Drums in Viet Nam
- Bronze Dong Son Drums by Ha Thuc Can

02 July 2007 (Vietnam Net Bridge) - A Dong Son style drum, used as a receptacle for human bones, was unearthed recently in the Dak Lak province of Vietnam. What I found interesting in this story was the fact that the coffee plant owner, in which the drum was found, was actually holding the drum ransom!

Dong Son drum discovered in Dak Lak

A bronze drum used to keep human bones has recently been discovered in Krong Nang district in the Central Highlands of Dak Lak, according to the Dak Lak General Museum.

According to the museum’s director Luong Thanh Son, the drum was found by waste collectors in a coffee plant. The plant’s owner asked the museum to pay VND100million (US$6,000) in return for the drum. The museum has informed higher provincial authorities of the drum as well as the sky-high price the owner is demanding.

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Read more about the Dong Son drum find in Dak Lak.

Other books about the Dong Son culture:
- The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham

1 April 2007 (Viet Nam News) - It’s a museum featuring Dong Son drums! It’s a restaurant serving Chinese and Vietnamese food! Actually, it’s a little bit of both…

Dong Son serves a tasty plate of the past

With 2000-year-old bronze drums decorating its walls, Ha Noi’s Dong Son restaurant is a stylish place for a meal. Nguyen My Ha reports the food lives up to the surroundings. When the Dong Son Drum Restaurant opened three months ago, people weren’t sure what to expect from an eatery filled with 2,000-year-old artefacts in the northwest corner of Ha Noi. Beyond its ornate decorations and display cases is a highly professional staff and tasty treats from a one-of-a-kind restaurant, located on the second floor of a private museum. Owner Nguyen Dai Duong, who’s name means the ocean, is the son of a sailor. Also the owner of the New Century Club in downtown Ha Noi, Duong said he opened Dong Son to showcase his collection of bronze drums made about 2,000 years ago in central Viet Nam. … The artefacts are safely displayed in glass boxes and lit as they would be in a real museum. A message above the antiques challenges guests to spot a fake and receive a prize of US$10,000. On the corner of Tran Dang Ninh and Cau Giay avenues, the Dong Son Drum Restaurant is more than just a place to eat and relax. The restaurant holds pieces of our history and rich culture for Vietnamese and tourists to enjoy in a traditional setting.

Related Books:
- Southeast Asia: From Prehistory to History by I. Glover
- The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham
- Bronze Dong Son Drums by Ha Thuc Can