Reward for the person who handed over 2 cannons

(Baonghean.vn) - Nghe An Provincial People's Committee awarded Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (residing in Hung Loi commune, Hung Nguyen district) - the person who discovered and handed over two cannons to the provincial museum.

On September 27, Mr. Nguyen Duc Kiem - Deputy Director of Nghe An Provincial Museum said that the museum had just organized an award ceremony for Mr. Nguyen Van Binh (residing in Hamlet 9, Hung Loi Commune, Hung Nguyen District) - the person who discovered and handed over 2 cannons to the provincial museum.

Previously, on the morning of August 19, 2012, Mr. Binh received a report from some fishermen who discovered a heavy iron bar under Lam River in Hung Hoa Commune (Vinh City) - about 1km from Ben Thuy 1 Bridge.

The iron bar was about 12 meters below the water surface, so it took Mr. Binh's diving team nearly 6 hours to salvage it. When it was brought to shore, everyone realized it was a cannon that was still relatively intact.

At the same time, Mr. Binh received information that 5 days ago, some fishermen had also discovered a similar gun near this area and they sold it for scrap, so Mr. Binh sought to buy it back. Because they had been underwater for a long time, both guns were covered with moss and rusted. Immediately after that, Mr. Binh handed over both cannons to the Nghe An Provincial Museum for research purposes.

Two guns were salvaged from Lam River to shore by Mr. Binh on August 19, 2012.

The first gun is 3.7m long, 18cm wide, has a muzzle diameter of 21cm, and weighs over 2 tons. The second gun is 1.38m long, has a muzzle diameter of 7.2cm, and weighs nearly 500kg. The two guns are cylindrical, gradually increasing in size from the mouth to the handle, with 3 distinct parts: barrel, barrel, and handle.

According to the assessment of underwater archaeology experts and the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, the two guns above date back to the late 17th century and early 19th century. It is possible that due to the change in the flow, these two cannons were exposed.

Mr. Kiem said: “In August 2013, a team of Australian underwater archaeologists conducted a survey of the location where the two cannons were discovered. Experts determined that the two cannons could have been on a warship during the Trinh - Nguyen conflict or on a Japanese merchant ship in the 18th-19th centuries that sank on the Lam River.”

After establishing an antique appraisal council to assess the historical, cultural and economic value of the two cannons, the People's Committee of Nghe An province decided to award Mr. Binh according to the Heritage Law.

“Currently, at the museums of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, there are 7 cannons discovered and handed over by local people on display. Among them, the cannon that Mr. Binh handed over is the largest cannon in these two museums,” Mr. Kiem added.

Doan Hoa