Need to accurately assess the value of the Temple Hill archaeological site

(Baonghean)According to some documents, the archaeological site of Doi Den (Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district) is considered unique and valuable. However, up to now, there has not been any thorough and scientific survey or research to accurately assess the value of this site.

MEETING a number of cultural officials at district and provincial levels, we learned that information about the Doi Den archaeological site is available in the book Tuong Duong Dia Chi Van Hoa Va Xa Ban (editor-in-chief by Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao) and the Proceedings of the Van - Cua Rao Temple Workshop "Relics and Festivals". However, when we read it, the information about the Doi Den archaeological site is quite limited and not really convincing because it has not cited scientific data. In the Proceedings of the Van - Cua Rao Temple Workshop "Relics and Festivals", there is only one article "Initial values ​​of the Doi Den archaeological site in Xa Luong commune, Tuong Duong district" by author Vo Duy Thanh - Head of the Management Board of Nghe An Monuments and Landscapes. In this article, author Vo Duy Thanh affirmed that the Doi Den archaeological site is unique and the most valuable among the sites discovered in the area. The author wrote: “…The archaeological site of Doi Den has a fairly large area located behind Van - Cua Rao temple. Through the color, we can see a 1000m2 black area of ​​land, which is the cultural soil layer of the site that has been excavated. Archaeologists have found many pieces of rough pottery. In the 2m2 exploration pit, a shouldered green stone adze, 11 pebbles and pebble pieces without traces of processing, and 57 pieces of rough pottery were collected. A pile of animal bones and teeth were also collected here, which after examination were found to be the bones of buffalo, deer, porcupine, and pig.

In addition to the land behind Van - Cua Rao temple, on the south side of the slightly sloping slope forming a saddle shape, the surveyors also discovered stone and ceramic artifacts concentrated in groups mixed with human bones. On the yellow ground, through observation, the excavators believed that this was an ancient tomb area that was converted by the people into terraced fields, so the artifacts were concentrated in groups. The artifacts collected here include: 1 stone adze with a shoulder made of green stone, 1 convex side, 1 concave side; 2 pieces of polished quadrangular axe blades; 1 sharp tip, 1 net lead; 1 linga-like artifact; 1 grinding table with a concave groove in the shape of a trough; 1 grinding table with two sides having 2 deep grooves. The pottery here is relatively abundant and has noteworthy characteristics, the pottery here is often mixed with coarse sand, with many carved patterns on the mouth. There is a phenomenon of smearing ochre on the mouth of the artifact both inside and outside, both before and after firing. Here, two relatively intact bowls were also found, the bowls have a relatively wide base, black bones, no cover, decorated with engraved lines and geometric patterns in a rolled S-shape combined with irregular dot patterns close to the style of Phung Nguyen culture pottery....".



Archaeological site of Doi Den during Van - Cua Rao Temple Festival.

There is even less information about the Doi Den archaeological site in the book Tuong Duong Dia Chi Van Hoa and Xa Ban. The content of the Doi Den archaeological site is as follows: "... On Tuong Duong land, archaeologists have just found traces of early bronze culture at Xa Luong and Tam Dinh. In Xa Luong, cultural relics were found at Con Den, also known as Don Den. Con Den is located right at Cua Rao, where the two rivers Nam Mo and Nam Non converge to form Ca River, commonly known as Lam River. Here, archaeologists have found stone axe blades with shoulders or rectangular shapes, only nets and carts made of terracotta, along with many ceramics. The ceramics here include jars, pots, bowls... some of which are painted red (ochre) on the mouth or decorated with brick carvings. Some of the decorations are similar to Phung Nguyen culture ceramics in the Northern Delta...".

Based on information from the two books "Tuong Duong Dia Chi Van Hoa Va Xa Ban" and the Proceedings of the Van - Cua Rao Temple Workshop "Relics and Festivals", we met with Mr. Vi Sat Son - Head of the district's cultural department to ask about the artifacts mentioned in the articles. According to Mr. Son, the artifacts that archaeologists found at the site are kept at the Provincial Museum.



The elephant bell and terracotta beads, found at Temple Hill, are kept at Nghe An General Museum.

Looking through the directory of more than 20 thousand artifacts kept by the Provincial General Museum, we learned that there are only 2 artifacts belonging to the Doi Den Archaeological Site, including: 1 bronze elephant bell and a small terracotta bracelet. However, these 2 artifacts do not match the artifacts that archaeologists found at the Doi Den Archaeological Site as mentioned in the two books above. Meeting Mr. Vo Duy Thanh - author of the article "Initial values ​​of the Doi Den Archaeological Site in Xa Luong Commune, Tuong Duong District", he said that information about the Doi Den Archaeological Site was exploited from the Institute of Archaeology. According to Mr. Vo Duy Thanh, the Doi Den Archaeological Site was discovered on the basis of increased production by local people and landslides caused by rain and wind. Since then, archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology have conducted 2 excavations (in 1973 and 1979). However, these are only exploratory investigations, so it is not possible to fully assess the material and spiritual value of this site...

From the available information, it can be understood that the real value of the Doi Den archaeological site will only be revealed when the site is excavated in a large and scientific manner. In our opinion, in addition to the cultural and historical values ​​of Van - Cua Rao Temple that have been affirmed, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism needs to help Tuong Duong district correctly assess and promote the value of the Doi Den archaeological site. Only by linking the values ​​of Van - Cua Rao Temple and the Doi Den archaeological site can this place truly become an attractive scenic spot.

Nhat Lan