The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of central Binh Thuan
province plans to work with the Southern Institute of Social Sciences to
carry out excavation at an ancient tower complex of the Cham ethnic
group in the province.
According to the department, the
excavation area at Po Tam tower complex will cover 706 sq.m at the foot
of Ong Xiem Mountain in Phu Lac commune, Tuy Phong district,
100 km to the northeast of Phan Thiet city.
The complex,
recognized as a national as a national art architecture relic in 1996,
consists of 6 towers which date back to the latter half of the 8th
century and the early 9th century.
Currently, only three
towers remain fairly intact while three others have collapsed. The
towers’ architectural style is similar to that of the Poshanua tower
complex in Phan Thiet city.
The planned excavation is prompted
by the discovery of two ancient walls underneath the complex in 2012,
when construction workers were building a wall surrounding the tower
complex. Initial survey by the provincial museum staff showed there were
two brick walls which are 190cm-high and 65cm-thick. Many neat layers
of bricks were also found between the walls, allegedly the remains of a
staircase to a collapsed tower.
The discovery of the walls
brings archaeologists new knowledge about the Po Tam tower as well as
about ancient Cham architecture in general.
The oldest of the Cham towers in the central region, the Po Tam tower is known as a place to worship the kings of Cham people.-VNA