The excavations are part of a multi-year collaborative research project called “Foragers, Cultivators and the Agricultural Revolution in Mainland Southeast Asia” between the Vietnam University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (led by Prof. Dr. Lam Thi My Dung and Dr. Nguyen Huu Manh - Department of History) and the Australian National University (led by Prof. Peter Bellwood and Prof. Philip Piper).
The excavation from March 28 to April 29, 2025 at the Quynh Van site, Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province opened a new chapter of research on one of the ancient cultures in Vietnam. With an excavation area of 19 square meters, the research team discovered and excavated 8 tombs with many relics and traces of activities of residents about 4,000 - 6,000 years ago, contributing to clarifying the mysteries about the origin, life and culture of the community living around the ancient Quynh Luu bay.
Geographical location and history of the Quynh Van site
Delegates visit the excavation pit
The Quynh Van site is located at the foot of Lap Son mountain, adjacent to National Highway 1A, near the Quen River. Previously, the site covered an area of about 11,200m², however, due to scallop shell exploitation activities since the 1970s, most of the site was destroyed, leaving only a small part preserved. In 2017, the Quynh Van site was officially ranked as a national relic, present in a zoned area of nearly 5,000m².
More than 60 years ago, in 1963-1964, from previous surveys and excavations, scientists discovered a series of stone, ceramic, mollusk shell relics and especially 30 ancient tombs. Through anthropological studies, it was shown that the ancient residents here belonged to the Australo-Negroid race, with Mongoloid characteristics, living on aquatic resources, hunting and gathering and making stone tools.
After more than 60 years, the Quynh Van relic was studied again, three excavation pits were opened in 2025 to better determine the time of residence, living activities and the relationship of the ancient Quynh Van residents with the natural environment. By excavating according to the layer method, this excavation collected thousands of specimens, relics and many relics were exposed.
- Pit 1 has a 3.2m thick stratigraphic layer, containing traces of a kitchen, column holes, and many stone, ceramic, and mollusk shell relics. These traces show that residents built settlements from clam and scallop shells to form high and wide scallop mounds, with food processing activities and long-term residential activities.
- Pit 2 discovered two layers of burials in a sitting position with knees bent, along with traces of residential activities, stone tools, and flakes. The ancient tombs can be related to burial customs such as covering with layers of yellow sand, burying the dead with mollusk shell jewelry, placing ivory and rocks to mark the graves. Although 8 excavated tombs and many unexcavated tombs are located within 9m2, there was no evidence of cutting or destroying the tombs, which shows that the ancient Quynh Van people were clearly aware of burial customs.
- Pit 3 was excavated to collect additional specimens, providing data on the ancient environment, a variety of animals such as marine fish, turtles, pigs, deer, Placuna scallops and other mollusks, reflecting the highly adaptive strategy of ancient residents to the coastal and limestone mountain habitat.
Professor Philip Piper shares more about the cooperation between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the Australian National University on the excavation of Quynh Van.
Prof. Dr. Lam Thi My Dung reported at the Conference on preliminary results of archaeological excavation at Quynh Van relic.
Significance and prospects of research
The 2025 excavation at Quynh Van opened a new page in the study of Neolithic culture in North Central Vietnam, contributing to clarifying the role of the site in the formation and settlement of one of the earliest communities in the region in Central Vietnam. The discoveries of ancient tombs, traces of daily life and the diversity of artifacts have opened up many new research directions on the origin, burial customs and lifestyle of the ancient residents of Quynh Van.
In particular, the excavation results confirmed that ancient residents lived and built settlements from scallop shells, made stone tools and buried their dead in a sitting position with their knees bent, without pottery or ground stone tools, showing diversity in burial customs and possibly older than cultures such as Da But or Bac Son or belonging to a "different tradition, trajectory".
The relics, bones and ancient biological samples will continue to be studied, analyzed for dating, archaeology and environment to clarify the history of residence, ethnic origin, diet and the relationship between humans and the environment in Quynh Van. These are important sources of information in DNA research, genetic research... about the Quynh Van cultural community that once lived on the S-shaped strip of land.
During the report, the excavation team called on authorities, scientists and the community to continue to pay attention to and protect the value of this site, in order to maximize its research potential in the future.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Kim - Vice Chairman of the National Heritage Council shares about the value of the Quynh Van excavation in 2025
Some artifacts collected at the excavation pit
