Des archéologues reçoivent le prix Trần Văn Giàu.

Seven decades and counting, an archaeological site continues to yield vestiges of one of Vietnam’s three most prominent ancient cultures.

A definitive conclusion about Oc Eo being the capital of the ancient Funan kingdom has verified yet, but a group of archaeologists have compiled an important body of work about vestiges of this city/culture.

One site in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, in particular, has proved rich in related artifacts.
< A statue of Oc Eo Culture exhibited at a
museum in Thoai Son District, An Giang
Province in the Mekong Delta.

For their “most complete” scientific work in the field, the archaeologists from Ho Chi Minh City have won the Tran Van Giau Prize, (Professor Trần Văn Giàu, born in 1911, is a well known historian[1]), a prestigious annual history award for this year.

 - “This is a reliable source of materials and has high scientific value,” said To Buu Giam, head of the jury that selects winners from unpublished or newly-published historical works related to the southern region.

The group has structured clearly all the relics and vestiges unearthed through field trips, excavations and investigations made over the past century, Giam said.

They also conducted three field trips in areas surrounding An Giang’s major streams to add to their findings, Associate Professor Pham Duc Manh, who led the research, told Thanh Nien.

 - “We gave priority to excavating the Go Tu Tram vestige in Thoai Son District to learn more about the stratigraphy (a method to date artifacts by cutting a section vertically through the Earth to show different layers) of Oc Eo period through pottery,” he said, adding that the Go Cay Tung vestige in Tinh Bien District, where human skeletons were found, was another focus of their research.

Although he didn’t give particular figures about their findings, Manh said they had found random relics including quadrangular stone axes and adzes as well as animal and human skeletal remains in the two districts.

 - “We introduced all the test results in terms of petrography (rock examination to determine mineral content) for stone samples, spectrum for pottery and metallic samples, as well as testing human and animal tooth samples.”

The tests showed that the ancient human skulls found in Go Cay Tung were very close to those of ancient Thai, Vietnamese and Dong Son people – the Southeast Asian group, said Manh, citing conclusions drawn by his colleagues Nguyen Kim Thuy and Nguyen Lan Cuong.

Yet they are quite different from Vietnam’s ethnic minority people of Thuong and Kh’mer, he added.

The research also records findings about a variety of stones, tin and terracotta relics of different shapes including women, lion heads, tortoises and cobras.

The archaeologists have systematized 1,116 gold sheets with carved figures of Hindu gods like Brahma (the Creator of the Universe) and Shiva (Destroyer) and others.

These sheets with geometric shapes, decorative objects and ancient characters account for the most – around 54.4 percent, according to Manh.

 - “Remarkably, ancient Sanskrit writings carved on stones, gold and silver have contributed significant proofs to the study about the ‘literate’ spirit and material culture of the ancient Funan kingdom.”

Several stone and bronze statues of Buddhists in sitting and standing positions have also been found, as well as sacred objects like Yoni and Lingams in various shapes, sizes and materials, including granite and sandstone. 

All the new findings have been added to the compiled materials to make up the six-part work comprising thousands of pages, which is yet to be published.

The researchers said they found it difficult to understand how and why such an “ancient coastal swamp” culture with great developments vanished into thin air, even in historic records.

 - “Sea penetration or deluge? Epidemics? None of these theories are convincing,” Manh said.

He feels interested researchers should keep looking for clues around the flatland on the west of the Hau River.

OC EO

According to the researchers, Oc Eo was first mentioned by a French doctor referred to as Dr. Gore in 1879 and then by French archaeologist Louis Malleret in 1937.

Malleret started excavating the 450- hectare site in 1943 and since then, many Vietnamese archaeologists along with their foreign counterparts from countries like the US and Japan have conducted many studies and field trips.

Thousands of relics, including sophisticated pottery with intricate floral designs, gold and silver currency, and even Roman coins, have been unearthed so far. Many of the artifacts are now on display at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, the National Museum of Vietnam History in Hanoi and some museums in the Mekong Delta provinces.

Together with the artifacts, many hypotheses have also been raised around the site as well as the Oc Eo Culture, which is typified by the artifacts excavated there.

Some scholars have said Oc Eo is the capital of Funan kingdom, while others believe the site, located within a network of ancient canals that crisscross the low flatlands of the Mekong Delta, was once a busy port of the kingdom.

There is no question, however, that the Oc Eo Culture has for long been considered one of the most prominent ancient Vietnamese cultures of the Iron Age along with the Dong Son Culture in the north and the Sa Huynh Culture in the central region.

Reported by Giao Huong

[1] Informations sur Trần Văn Giàu : voir le site facultystaff.richmond.edu... et la fiche vi.wikipedia.org...