(Baonghean.vn) - Historical documents on archaeological sites all assess Dong Truong Site (Anh Son District) as a treasure. Leading experts such as Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lan Cuong, former Director of the Institute of Archaeology, currently Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeological Association, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Khac Su, senior researcher, Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, archaeologist Bui Vinh... all agree that Dong Truong Site "is an extremely rare multicultural relic".
However, that "treasure", "extremely rare multicultural relic", although close to National Highway 7 and less than a kilometer from the center of Anh Son district, is still buried in bushes, has no access road, and is also a garbage dump, a shelter for livestock... During a trip to the highlands, a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper recorded some not-so-nice images at Dong Truong Relic Site.
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| Going up to Anh Son district, about 1km past the center, people told us that the famous archaeological site called Dong Truong is in this area. |
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| Error entering Dong Truong cave |
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| The road to Dong Truong site is just a trail, covered by dense bushes. |
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| Looking down from the cave entrance, the cave floor appeared full of trash. |
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| Down in the cave, the trash is chicken feathers, duck feathers... |
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| ....There is also trash of all kinds of firewood, coal... |
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| Inside Dong Truong cave, there are many small cave branches. |
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| This cave branch is quite deep. |
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| There are traces of digging on both branches, the reason is unknown. |
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| From an aesthetic perspective, Dong Truong Cave is quite attractive with clusters of stalactites of beautiful shapes. |
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| And here again, another cluster of stalactites with quite an interesting shape. |
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| Some skeletons in an exploration pit at Dong Truong cave. We contacted Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lan Cuong by phone - former Director of the Institute of Archaeology, currently Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeological Association and he told us: In 2006, when discovering the great value of Dong Truong cave, he and his colleagues decided to fill in the excavated pits, only taking a few specimens for research. And he also asked the Institute of Archaeology to continue excavation; asked the Department of Heritage to classify the relic. When hearing our information about the current status of Dong Truong Archaeological Site, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Lan Cuong expressed regret. And he said: This is an extremely rare multicultural relic. Located on the bank of Lam River, close to National Highway 7, Dong Truong Site has a very favorable geographical location. It is necessary to create favorable conditions for conservation work, to promote local and national cultural and historical values. |
Nhat Lan - Nguyen Khoa
