The foundation of an 11th-century stone tower has been unearthed at DamPagoda in the northern city of Bac Ninh, 30km northeast of Hanoi,revealing complex features of Buddhist architecture of the period.
Located on the southern side of Lam Son Mountain ,construction of Dam Pagoda was begun in 1086 under the reign of Ly NhanTong and completed in 1094. It was one of the leading examples ofBuddhist architecture in the north during the Tran (1225-1400) and Le(1428-1788) dynasties. In the Tran dynasty, the pagoda consisted of 12buildings while in the Le dynasty, it was expanded to over 100 rooms.
According to researcher Le Dinh Phung, who directed the excavation, thefoundation forms a square measuring 8.4m by 8.4m. The missing tower isassumed to face east to a height of 1.56m and built with stonesdecorated in wave patterns. It may have carried Buddha statue on top toface the remaining stone column at the pagoda, Phung said.
Upon excavating the foundation and a site of 300sq.m, archaeologistsfound building materials from the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties andconcluded that Dam Pagoda was an architectural complex of four layerscovering an area of over 7,500sq.m following the slope of Lam SonMountain .
"This is one of the most intact examples ofarchitecture from the Ly dynasty," said Vietnam Archaeology Institutedirector Tong Trung Tin.
Luu Tran Tieu, chairman of theNational Culture Heritage Council, said the excavation revealed variousunique features of the pagoda beside the stone pillar of the pagoda. Heproposed further research at the site to gain greater understanding ofthe architecture of the Ly dynasty. /.
Located on the southern side of Lam Son Mountain ,construction of Dam Pagoda was begun in 1086 under the reign of Ly NhanTong and completed in 1094. It was one of the leading examples ofBuddhist architecture in the north during the Tran (1225-1400) and Le(1428-1788) dynasties. In the Tran dynasty, the pagoda consisted of 12buildings while in the Le dynasty, it was expanded to over 100 rooms.
According to researcher Le Dinh Phung, who directed the excavation, thefoundation forms a square measuring 8.4m by 8.4m. The missing tower isassumed to face east to a height of 1.56m and built with stonesdecorated in wave patterns. It may have carried Buddha statue on top toface the remaining stone column at the pagoda, Phung said.
Upon excavating the foundation and a site of 300sq.m, archaeologistsfound building materials from the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties andconcluded that Dam Pagoda was an architectural complex of four layerscovering an area of over 7,500sq.m following the slope of Lam SonMountain .
"This is one of the most intact examples ofarchitecture from the Ly dynasty," said Vietnam Archaeology Institutedirector Tong Trung Tin.
Luu Tran Tieu, chairman of theNational Culture Heritage Council, said the excavation revealed variousunique features of the pagoda beside the stone pillar of the pagoda. Heproposed further research at the site to gain greater understanding ofthe architecture of the Ly dynasty. /.
