More vestiges found in Ho Dynasty Citadel

Southern gates of the Ho Dynasty Citadel

A number of artefacts have been discovered in the southern area of the Ho Dynasty Citadel’s Trench in the central province of Thanh Hoa, revealing the original structure and unique values of the Citadel.

According to the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Preservation Centre, excavators unearthed an area of 2,040 square metres, discovering a 61-metre wide guard trench along freestones with manipulated traces and a macadam layer with a 5-10 centimetre thickness. A 7-metre wide stone embankment was also found in the area.

Archaeological findings included 89 rectangle-shaped limestone and schist pieces with dimensions of 1.7 x 1.1 metres and various kinds of terra-cotta objects such as tiles, bricks, enamel pottery and crockery dating from the Tran (13 th century), Ho (1350-1410) and Le So (1428-1528) dynasties, along with bullets, curling stones, iron arrows and chisels.

The newly discovered antiques prove that the Ho Dynasty Citadel trench was not only a guard station but also a workshop for whittling stones to construct the citadel.

The Ho Dynasty Citadel, located in the two communes of Vinh Tien and Vinh Long, is a unique stone-made architectural work in Vietnam. Built by Ho Quy Ly in 1397, this citadel eventually became the home of the capital.

Over its more than 600 years of its existence, most of the buildings inside the Citadel have been destroyed. Traces of the foundations of the old palaces lie hidden under the rice fields.

The citadel was recognised as a world cultural heritage by UNESCO in June 2011.

The discovery is important to the conservation, management and promotion of the heritage.-VNA