Go Thanh archaeological site

Go Thanh archaeological site

Go Thanh relic belongs to Oc Eo culture, located in Tan Thanh hamlet, Tan Thuan Binh commune, Cho Gao district, Tien Giang province. The name Go Thanh appeared when the first Vietnamese people who came to explore this land saw many bricks on the mound, thinking it was a vestige of an ancient citadel, so they named it Go Thanh, with the purpose of marking a location in residential area. In 1941, Malleret, a French archaeologist, discovered this place. In 1979, some Tien Giang Museum officials came here to survey. In July 1987, a new archaeological investigation was officially conducted and came to the conclusion: Go Thanh archaeological site belongs to the Oc Eo culture. In Khmer language, it means "bright area", "bright spot" is the ancient name of the Ba The - Sap mountain region (now Vong The commune, Thoai Son district, An Giang province). In 1941, after Malleret discovered this place, he collected some artifacts and published them in France. This culture was named after the place where it was discovered, so it is called "Oc Eo Culture". During the years 1988 - 1989, Tien Giang Museum combined with the Archeology Center to conduct two seasons of excavation and survey at this relic. Archaeologists have analyzed a number of samples here using the C14 (Carbon - 14) method, concluding that the Go Thanh archaeological site dates from the 4th to 8th centuries AD. This is a special relic area because it is still preserved quite intact and rich with 3 different types of relics: residential relics, architectural relics and burial relics. Especially the architectural relics with many temples and towers next to each other of different scales, very majestic, although only the foundation remains. Through ancient bibliographies, it is shown that Oc Eo culture is the culture of the Funan kingdom. At that time, Funan was one of the most powerful kingdoms in Southeast Asia, with large trading ports and goods exchange with many countries around the world. Funan society consisted mainly of classes: farmers, merchants, clans and clergy. In particular, this place has many diverse artifacts, representing the civilization of an ancient country, not only found in the East and Southwest of Vietnam but stretching to eastern Cambodia and part of the coast. Thai customs. After excavations, restoration and embellishment of the monument, archaeologists have found: In the middle of the temples and towers are square well-shaped worship holes with many different designs, with depths from 1.5 to 3 meters. At the bottom of the pit, there are occasionally square or circular pieces of gold cut in the shape of lotus petals, engraved with images of animals, mainly elephants, a little ash, square wooden bars with sides of about 40 cm stacked on top of each other in a pattern. square, alternating layers of yellow sand and pebbles. The tower's foundation is solidly built with layers of bricks of diverse sizes. Archaeologists have discovered 271 relics made of gold, bronze, stone, and terracotta that bear basic characteristics of the Oc Eo culture. Inside the house displaying artifacts, there is a statue of Vishnu in its original form, a statue of a goddess and a statue of a male god, all of which only have their bodies remaining; A small piece of stone with Sanskrit inscriptions (ancient Sanskrit) with very few strokes remaining; There are both male and female fertility models, symbolizing the origin of human development; 2 blue purple and clear white gemstones. In addition, there are many pieces of vase spouts, many rough and smooth ceramics colored red or brown with decorative patterns, and some ceramic leaves. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognized Go Thanh archaeological site as a "National Historical and Cultural Site" on December 12, 1994. Source: Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Tien Giang Province

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Rating : National monument

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