440 artifacts and images of the Sa Huỳnh culture, dating back 2,000-2,500 years, are being displayed at the Quang Ngai General Museum starting from the afternoon of July 22.
This is the first time ancient artifacts from the Sa Huỳnh cultural era, a cradle of Vietnamese civilization alongside the Đông Sơn (North) and Óc Eo (South) cultures, are being showcased in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Sa Huỳnh. These artifacts were excavated by archaeologists in the localities of Quang Ngai, Quang Nam, and Binh Dinh, dating back approximately 2,500 to 3,000 years.
A characteristic feature of this culture is that most daily utensils were made of bronze and iron; burial rites were conducted with great care, accompanied by valuable jewelry such as gemstone beads, earrings, and gold rings…
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Daily utensils and jewelry – burial items accompanying the jars – a distinctive feature of the Sa Huỳnh culture. |
Through the Sa Huỳnh cultural artifacts displayed at the Quang Ngai General Museum, many cultural researchers from both domestic and international backgrounds have noted that the Sa Huỳnh culture’s inhabitants engaged in vigorous trade with other civilizations such as Đông Sơn in the North and Óc Eo in the South. Among the burial jars, some Chinese pottery is interspersed with Vietnamese ceramics. This evidence shows that the Vietnamese had trade and exchange relationships with the outside world from ancient times.
In 1909, the French archaeologist M. Vinet accidentally discovered a burial jar site with numerous valuable artifacts near the An Khê lagoon in Phổ Thạnh commune, Đức Phổ district (Quang Ngai). This was the first evidence of a distinct culture in Central Vietnam.
Burial jar artifacts.
Burial jar shaped like a pot.
Tower-shaped burial jar.
Jewelry made of gemstone beads and three-pronged earrings buried with the deceased.
The Sa Huỳnh burial jar was restored by craftsman Lâm Dũ Xênh in Châu Ổ town along with specialists from the UNESCO Vietnam Association, reconstructing it from thousands of broken pottery pieces.
These artifacts attract visitors.
… And archaeologists both domestic and international.
