BẢO TÀNG AN GIANG
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I would like to introduce the gallery about Oc Eo culture in An Giang. This culture dates from the first to the seventh century, about 2000 years ago. Here we would like to introduce the relics and relics that have been found in excavations mainly after the date of the complete reunification of the South. Through the relics and relics that have been collected, we can see that this place in the period of Oc Eo culture has developed many architectural works such as houses, temples, city walls and items in daily life, production tools. Especially the gold collection includes paintings, writings on gold antiquities and very rich and unique jewelry.
The Oc Eo culture in An Giang was discovered in 1942 by a French archaeologist named Malleret at the ruins of Oc Eo mound (Vong The commune, Thoai Son district). Up to now, more than 20 relics of this culture have been discovered in An Giang. In the lowland "Long Xuyen Quadrangle" on the edge of Ha Tien coast, Rach Gia has the most relics (only the diagram): Oc Eo - Ba The, Da Noi, Dinh My, Tram Da, Lo Mo, Nui Sam and Tri Ton,... Compared to other lands, it can be said that An Giang is the most developed area of this culture. In this gallery, we only introduce 2 of the most typical and most prominent relics, namely Oc Eo - Ba The relic area and Da Float - Phu Hoa relic area, and at the same time introduce 3 more relics excavated from 1994 to now.
This is a panoramic photo of the relic. This relic was discovered in 1942, excavated 2 times in 1944 and 1983; over 1000 hectares, divided into 3 main areas: the Northeast slope, the southeast slope of Ba The mountain and the Giong Cat and Giong Xoai fields in the east of Ba The mountain.
Particularly for the relics around Linh Son Tu, archaeologists have dug many exploration holes, exploration holes at different depths and at quite a distance from each other, but all found archaeological traces at a depth of 1.5 - 3m, that is, brick walls over 2m high, square brick yard, three-level steps, decorative ceramic pieces, pipe tile tiles... These traces show that this place used to have many large works such as houses, temples, city walls... it can be said that this is the most important center of Oc Eo - Ba The relic. In addition, broken items such as ceramic cups with lids, jar fragments, bottle faucets, etc. were also collected.
Particularly for the relics around Linh Son Tu, archaeologists have dug many exploration holes, exploration holes at different depths and at quite a distance from each other, but all found archaeological traces at a depth of 1.5 - 3m, that is, brick walls over 2m high, square brick yard, three-level steps, decorative ceramic pieces, pipe tile tiles... These traces show that this place used to have many large works such as houses, temples, city walls... it can be said that this is the most important center of Oc Eo - Ba The relic. In addition, broken items such as ceramic cups with lids, jar fragments, bottle faucets, etc. were also collected.
In addition to the Linh Son Tu relic group, in the Oc Eo - Ba The relic area, there is also another large group of relics distributed on the Ba The mountain field, which is the Giong Cat and Giong Xoai relics group. This relic is over 400 hectares wide, including many relics: architectural relics of temples and monuments of Cay Thi mound, Go Cat mound, Go Cay Trom mound, ancient tomb site, site residing on wooden pillars of stilt houses along 2 banks of large ponds called Lung Stones Well.
The architectural diagram of Cay Trom mound shows the surface and cross-section, this relic is only half, half has been excavated. The relic has an area of 900m2; The front is a high brick terrace, the central part is a low, wide brick floor, surrounded by a corridor, and the back is a narrow brick floor. The relic is a solid and unique architectural work located in the temple architectural cluster in the Giong Cat field. Around the cluster of relics there are many floating mounds on a smaller scale than ancient tomb sites, which were excavated in 1983.
This is a diagram of the ancient tomb site of Oc Eo A1 depicting a tomb with a stone structure arranged in the shape of a pyramid, with a tomb and grave points used as a place of worship. This is a typical grave for the type of cremation in Oc Eo culture.
The inhabitants of the Funan kingdom are mostly Brahmins, and their object of worship is linga-yoni – a variant of Shiva, a god of unparalleled power. Linga-yoni is a symbol of yin and yang intercourse, of human survival.
The A3 ancient tomb diagram depicts a tomb with a simpler structure and its own characteristics. The buried objects were objects and animal remains, according to the method of identification C14: 1750±50, 1800 years ago. It is worth noting that this tomb is not buried with precious objects, but only ordinary items such as metal cookers, terracotta ingots, mesh leads, cattle bones, deer antlers, and deer horns.
In addition to the above 2 graves, I would like to introduce photos of other tombs that have been excavated. In general, these graves belong to the type of cremation with a cylindrical central architecture, 4 sides made of brick or block stone, in the middle there is a cave or hollow box filled with sandy soil, on top of which is filled with soil, stones form a floating mound. The buried objects were placed at the bottom of the box, and the owners of the graves were Brahmins.
This is a panoramic photo of Go Cay Thi architecture, a beautiful and quite intact architectural work that has been ranked by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as two architectural relics A and B in Go Cay Thi as archaeological relics according to Decision No. 39/2002/QD-BVHTT dated December 30, 2002. and are 2 of the relics of Oc Eo – Ba The archaeological and architectural relics ranked by the Prime Minister as a special national monument according to Decision No. 1419/QD-TTg dated September 27, 2012, the relics have been made a solid roof for protection.
Ceramics in Oc Eo culture have ivory white or light yellow fine earthen bones: lids, glasses with legs, spouts, pieces of coffee with rope decorations, brushes, drawings and geometric schemes,... belong to the local pottery tradition and only appeared in the Oc Eo cultural period. In particular, the lead nets and trailers are only made of terracotta, showing that fishing and weaving developed during the Oc Eo cultural period.
In addition to pottery, in the Oc Eo culture, stone objects, primitive stone axes are also found that are still poorly preserved in the Oc Eo culture, pestles and grinding tables for processing agricultural and forestry products.
Next, introduce to you the statues and objects of worship in Oc Eo culture. Bronze Buddha statues, Genasha statues, fists, heads, stone and terracotta linga-yoni,.... In Brahmanism, the 3 most worshipped gods are: Brama (4 sides): the god of creation Vishnu: the god of conservation Shiva: the god of destruction According to Indian philosophy, destruction is an inevitable action to lead to regeneration, and the god Shiva has a good meaning. Shiva is the most worshipped god of immense power. The variant of the god Shiva is Linga-yoni. In addition to the religious nature, these statues also show the level of sophisticated and skillful sculpture of the ancient inhabitants. Here are photos of the excavated relics: Nam Linh Son Tu architecture, jar tombs, De mounds, wooden piles, Tamarind Tree mound, Ut Nhanh mound, in the period 1998-1999 - 2000. Besides, there are photos of the excavation and collection of artifacts.
The collection of reliefs of human faces and animal faces in terracotta. The ceramic artifacts show us more about the diversity of life activities of Oc Eo residents such as: lamps, metal cookers, pyramidal objects, elephant teeth,... Oc Eo pottery is used in daily life and belief. This is a relief embossed with Buddha images and patterns, showing the ingenuity and feats of the ancient residents of Oc Eo.
The relic area is over 100 hectares, including 2 main areas: residential relics and ancient tomb relics. In 1985, through the discovery of the people, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Social Sciences and the An Giang Museum launched a major excavation, discovering 7 tombs with the same structure distributed on high ground, surrounded by flooded lowlands. This is a photo of the tombs in the excavated site. In general, these are cremation graves with funnel-shaped acupuncture points, 4 sides with empty boxes filled with sandy soil, surrounded by stone blocks, and there are no traces of floating mounds on top.
Buried objects are precious objects such as gold, gold rings, and precious stones. The owner of the tombs is a Brahmin. (Introduction: this is a restored tomb) Of the 7 tombs, at the M2 tomb, 104 relics were discovered including paintings on gold leaves, gold leaves with writing, yellow flowers, and gold Linga-yoni.
As for the ancient tomb M4, there are 165 relics, it can be said that this is the first time that archaeologists have collected the largest and richest number of paintings on gold leaf. In addition, at the ancient tomb M4, additional rectangular structures were also discovered related to the worship organization of the tomb owner's family. This is a custom recorded in the relics of ancient tombs in Oc Eo.
I would like to introduce to the delegation the documents, publications, reports, and monographs that have specifically recorded the scientific achievements of the Oc Eo cultural conference and ancient cultures in the Mekong Delta. These are the drawings on the gold artifacts, the theme is the images of Brahmanism (snakes, turtles, Taoists, fire tridents......) these are the richest, most unique and most exquisite drawings of the art of depiction in the Oc Eo culture in the II-VII centuries.
These images have given us more insight into the unique graphic art style on gold of Oc Eo residents, and also show that the use of this precious metal is common in the lives of Oc Eo ancient residents. Ancient Indian books at that time also recited about the land of South Indochina, a land rich in gold. That is why in the Oc Eo cultural period, there were many nobles, Taoists, and merchants traveling. Accordingly, Indian civilization came and integrated into the life of the ancient inhabitants of Oc Eo.
Cay Tung mound relics in Thoi Son commune, Tinh Bien district, were excavated in 1994 - 1995. Initially, a residential site was found with a fairly thick cultural layer and many artifacts. In the heart of this relic at a depth of 0.85 - 1.2m, burial remains were discovered with a total of 25 graves, the graves were buried directly in the ground, without coffins in the position of lying on their backs against their feet. The remains are being identified for dating.
An Loi Worship Pit relics in Chau Lang commune, Tri Ton district, excavated in 2001. The altar pit is a beautiful architectural relic made of bricks, built in a stepped way (6 levels) to form a 2m7 deep pit, wide at the top, narrowing down step by step. On the second step from the top, a stone statue of Goddess Panati, wife of Shiva, dated to the end of the second century and the beginning of the eighth century, the pit dates from the VIII - IX centuries.
An Loi ancient tower in Chau Lang commune, Tri Ton district, was discovered and excavated in 2001. According to archaeologists, An Loi ancient tower may be an architecture related to the Shiva faith, where the ancient inhabitants performed blessing rituals. This is a photo of An Loi ancient tower and excavated artifacts, a circular stone table and a stone sacred water trough.
In addition to Brahmanism, the ancient residents of Oc Eo also follow Buddhism, devotees not only carve Buddha statues in stone, cast in bronze but also sculpt on wood.
In fact, carpentry has developed quite a bit during the Oc Eo cultural period, which is reflected in the type of residence on stilt houses, a form of life that is quite popular in the life of Oc Eo residents. This is the remaining wooden pile on the stilt house in the field of Chac mountain, the pile is 3m - 3m2 high, sharply carved at one end and has a punch hole for the pin. The pile is very large and definitely proves that the stilt house is not small and very solid. And this is the balustrade used for decoration on Oc Eo stilt houses, through which we can see some of the structure of Oc Eo stilt houses.
These are the artifacts that are considered the most exquisite and precious found in the Oc Eo culture, which are gold jewelry, paintings on gold leaves, Brahmin figures, chain beads, quartz seals, etc.
It can be said that Oc Eo culture is indeed a great cultural heritage, marking an important historical period of the first class of people to conquer the southernmost land of the country. Oc Eo culture has contributed to the diversity of culture in our country.
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