Archaeological site of Lang Vac in Nghe An: Historical-cultural values

At the workshop, presentations by scientists and researchers clarified the achievements, research and excavation plans of Lang Vac relic; the outstanding historical and cultural values ​​of the relic; the position of Lang Vac in the historical and cultural context of the region; the relationship and position of Lang Vac during the Hung King period of nation building.

In addition, the presentations also mentioned the current status and limitations in promoting the value of relics, causes, lessons learned; potentials, opportunities, challenges and solutions to protect, preserve and promote the value of relics in the context of current socio-economic development.

Prof. Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan - Vice Principal of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities said that in Nghe An province, there are many archaeological sites from the Bronze Age; among them, the Lang Vac archaeological site is the Dong Son cultural center in the semi-mountainous area of ​​Thai Hoa town, Nghe An province.

To date, Lang Vac is one of two typical Dong Son relic sites, with a rich variety of artifacts. This is the relic site with the most burials of the Dong Son culture in Vietnam (including 300 tombs discovered through 5 times of exploration and excavation).

Vac Village became the name of a large Dong Son cultural center in the Ca River basin with more than 1,200 rich and diverse artifacts made of bronze, ceramic, stone, glass, iron such as bronze drums, axes, daggers, human statues, etc.

According to archaeological experts, Lang Vac can be compared with famous Dong Son cultural relics in the Red River basin such as Vinh Quang, Lang Ca...

Presenting the paper “The position of Lang Vac in the prehistoric process of the Lam/Ca River basin,” Prof. Dr. Lam Thi My Dung - Head of the Department of Archaeology, Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, affirmed that the most important Dong Son cultural site in the Ca River basin is Lang Vac. Lang Vac also represents the Ca River type, which is sometimes called Lang Vac type.

The Lang Vac relic site is identified as consisting of two residential areas (Lang Vac) and burial areas (Xom Dinh), distributed in the East and West of Khe Vac valley. The residential area is located in the West of Khe Vac valley, and the burial area is on the Eastern edge. The tomb is located on a hill, on a low edge next to today's rice fields. Lang Vac is a complex of burial relics that were inhabited for several hundred years.

In Lang Vac, excavators also identified a Son Vi cultural layer from the lower layer in the eastern excavation area in 1990. Lang Vac Valley has a number of other sites containing Son Vi stone tools. Thus, the presence of Son Vi cultural residents in the late Paleolithic period here is indisputable.

Prof. Dr. Lam Thi My Dung said that in the current socio-economic development conditions, like many other archaeological heritages, Lang Vac relic is being affected by many objective and subjective causes. In particular, there has not been a study to assess the status of the relic, the current reserves of the relic, the existing and potential risks...

Summarizing the workshop, Director of Nghe An Department of Culture and Sports Tran Thi My Hanh affirmed that through the workshop, the special and outstanding cultural value of Lang Vac relic was deeply appreciated.

Vac Village was a large-scale political and economic center during the Hung King period. The cultural characteristics of Vac Village have contributed to affirming that the ancient Vietnamese civilization during the Hung King period existed not only in the Red River and Ma River regions but also in the Lam River region.

In particular, when the Western Han Dynasty had imposed its domination over Vietnam, Lang Vac was still the site of the Dong Son culture of the Vietnamese people with artifacts such as bronze drums, weapons, daggers... contributing to the development of Lac Viet culture, without being affected or assimilated. Lang Vac relic also affirmed its relationship with the cultures of countries in the Southeast Asian region such as Thailand, China...

In the coming time, to protect and promote the Lang Vac relic, the Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Nghe An said that it is necessary to continue to coordinate with domestic and foreign research agencies to explore, excavate, and conduct archaeology to fully identify the relic; research, compile, and publish a number of specialized works introducing the Lang Vac archaeological relic.

Along with that, it is necessary to delimit the current planning protection area, strengthen propaganda and promotion of Lang Vac relic; build unique sightseeing and experience tourism products associated with the development of eco-tourism, craft villages, and historical relics in the surrounding areas.