A man went to rake mussels and found a series of objects suspected to be antiques.

The "collection" is considered antiques that Mr. Nguyen Van Cau picked up while raking mussels in the middle of Lam River. Photo: Cong Kien

Arriving at hamlet 2, Nam Tan commune (Nam Dan), we were shown by Mr. Nguyen Van Cau and his wife a “collection” that many people consider to be antiques that he picked up while raking mussels on the Lam river. These things are carefully kept, only opened to see by close or trusted people.

Bronze axe blades are the most notable item in Nguyen Van Cau's "collection". Photo: Cong Kien

The “collection” includes: 4 axe blades, 1 scythe-like object, about 200 coins, all made from bronze. Besides, there is also a porcelain vase and some other fragments. All were picked up by Mr. Cau more than 2 years ago, gathered in a period of 2 months.

He also found this porcelain vase while raking mussels on the Lam River. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Nguyen Van Cau recounted: “In mid-2016, after a heavy rain, I and some people in the same neighborhood rowed a boat to the Lam River to rake mussels. When we reached the downstream section of Nam Dan town, a heavy object got stuck in the rake blade. At first, I thought it was a rock. But when I picked it up, I really didn’t expect that in my hand was an axe blade. A few days later, I continued to pick up 3 more axe blades. Just like that, within 2 months, I had picked up all of these things.”

Hearing that Mr. Cau had picked up a “treasure” in the middle of the river, many people in the village and then in the commune came to see it, and some people from Vinh and Hanoi also came. Based on the patterns and materials, many people confirmed that some of the items in Mr. Cau’s “collection” were antiques.

Next to the axe blade and porcelain vase are hundreds of coins. Photo: Cong Kien

Mr. Nguyen Van Cau and his wife are farmers but have fishing roots. Their house is near the river so they also do fishing and clam raking to make a living.