SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog » Dong Son

Tomb excavated outside Hanoi

noelbynature — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 13:59:38 +0000

Archaeologists discover a 2,000-year-old tomb at the site of Go Den Ran, located in the outskirts of Hanoi.

Ancient tomb found in Ha Noi
Viet Nam News, 23 December 2010

A tomb estimated to be about 2,000 years old has been excavated at an archaeological site on the outskirts of Ha Noi.

And other objects found at the site indicate that there was an earlier settlement dating back as far as 4,000BC â€“ to the beginnings of Viet Nam’s history as a trading nation.

So far, scientists have found an earthenware jar and cooking pan â€“ plus, most significantly, a bronze axe, all of which are thought to belong to the renowned Dong Son culture (2,000BC-AD200).

But they have also uncovered various working tools, weapons and daily wares made from stone, bronze and pottery from the preceding Dong Dau culture, which existed from 4,000 to 2,500BC.

2nd century tomb unearthed on mountainside

noelbynature — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:52:45 +0000

A Dong Son period tomb comprising of a boat coffin, human statues and domestic items were unearthed near Hai Phon City in Vietnam.

Ancient tomb dated back 1,800 years unearthed
Nhan Dan, 30 October 2009

An ancient tomb with exterior and interior coffins has been unearthed in the northern port city of Hai Phong , according to the cityâ€™s museum.

The tomb was found by construction workers who were digging into the Thanh Den mountainâ€™s side of the Tan Phu Xuan cement plant.

The exterior coffin is made from large pieces of ironwood while its boat-shaped interior coffin is carved out from a big tree trunk, a style belonging to the Dong Son culture, which existed more than 2,000 years ago.

Dong Son stamp at the airport

noelbynature — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:50:35 +0000

I was back in Singapore over the weekend for my brother’s wedding when I chanced upon a familiar design at the Singapore Changi International Airport…

The Asian Civilisations Museum has set up little interactive booths around the new Terminal 3 for visitors to learn a little more about the local and regional cultures. This booth dealt with symbolic motifs in Southeast Asia. This corner of the booth carried some information about the symbolism of boats in SEA, using one of the Dong Son drums in the museum’s collection as an example.

You can even use the press the stamp your own Dong Son boat design on little slips of paper provided. This one’s currently used as a bookmark:

Vietnamese museum receives donation of 60 Dong Son artefacts

noelbynature — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 00:58:19 +0000

The Yen Bai province museum in Vietnam receives a donation of 60 artefacts from the Dong Son period.

Yen Bai Museum receives 60 antiques
The Voice of the Armed Forces and People, 23 March 2009

Nong Van Tinh, a Dao ethnic minority person, in Sat Ngot village, Van Yen District, has recently presented more than 60 antiques to the Yen Bai Provincial Museum.

The donations included ploughshares, axes, shovels, and hoes, all made of copper and iron; swords, daggers, and most remarkably a copper drum first found in Yen Bai Province.

Reviving the ancient art of bronze drum casting

noelbynature — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:14:20 +0000

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

Farmer-turned-artisan Thieu Quang Tungâ€™s bronze drums, created in the image of ancient masterworks, have become the toast of historians and artists alike.

Vietnamese bronze drums date back to the times before Christ and the first Dong Son bronze drum â€“ the ancient relicâ€™s most famous model â€“ was excavated over 80 years ago.

Read about Farmer Tung’s bronze drums here.

More books:
- Dong Son Drums in Viet Nam
- Bronze Dong Son Drums by Ha Thuc Can
- The Bronze Age of Southeast Asia (Cambridge World Archaeology) by C. Higham

Central Vietnam yields more relics

noelbynature — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 03:02:43 +0000

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 â€“ including guns, bas-reliefs and a bronze drum â€“ have been unearthed in three provinces on Vietnamâ€™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.

The 4-kg bronze guns are suspected to have been made under the Tran (1225-1400), Ho (1400-1407) or Le (1428-1776) dynasties, according to experts.

A recent excavation around the Duong Long Cham tower complex in Binh Dinh province has unearthed brick bas-reliefs depicting the holy snake Nagar and sea monsters.

The complex, which consists of three brick towers in Tay Son district, 50 km from the provincial capital of Quy Nhon, was built at the end of the 12th century â€“Cham cultural artâ€™s golden age.

Binh Dinh, the capital of the Viiaya dynasty, also owns relics pertaining to an ancient citadel from the 10th-15th centuries.

The Quang Binh province museum center said Wednesday it had received what is estimated to be a 2,000-2,500 year-old bronze drum fully intact.

It is decorated with a 10-pointed star followed by a ring featuring images of human beings and stylish Lac, a type of holy bird according to ancient Viet beliefs.

The next rings feature Lac birds flying counter-clockwise.

The drum is suspected to have come from the Dong Son era, about 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, according to experts.

The illegal trade in ancient bronze drums

noelbynature — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 01:58:30 +0000

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. Dieuâ€™s garden, is a Dong Son Drum Type 1, which dates back 2,200 years. The surfaceâ€™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

Dong Son material culture found in Vietnamese central highlands

noelbynature — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 05:20:08 +0000

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 museumâ€™s director Luong Thanh Son, the drum was found by waste collectors in a coffee plant. The plantâ€™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.

…

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

Dong Son serves a tasty plate of the past

noelbynature — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 03:40:19 +0000

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 Noiâ€™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 werenâ€™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, whoâ€™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

Museum gets first Dong Son Drum

noelbynature — Sun, 18 Mar 2007 04:11:00 +0000

15 March 2007 (Nhan Dan) – The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology receives donation of a Dong Son drum from a donor.

Museum gets first Dong Son Drum

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has added a Dong Son bronze drum to its collection thanks to a generous donation by a private collector.

The Vietnam Museum of Ethnology has received a Dong Son bronze drum from Pham Dung, who teaches at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Culture. The more-than-2,000-year-old drum to the museum yesterday, nine years after he picked it up in Ninh Binh province.

On the drum, which was used in harvest prayer rituals, are etched four toads with their heads directed clockwise, and concentric circles around a sun in the centre from where a dozen intricate and exact rays spread out towards the edge.