Tam Tho pottery – quintessence of Thanh Hoa pottery art hinh anh 1Although Tam Tho ceramic products are no longer available on the market, many precious artifacts are preserved at Tam Tho Pottery Museum (Photo: baothanhhoa.vn)
Thanh Hoa (VNA) – Traces of the ancient Tam Tho pottery craft left in the pottery kiln site at Dong Vinh area in Thanh Hoa city, the central province of Thanh Hoa show a flourishing period of a thousand-year-old craft village.

First discovered in 1937 by Swedish archaeologist Olov Janse and then excavated by Vietnamese archaeologists, the large-scale pottery kiln site in Tam Tho and Van Van hamlets has gradually been unearthed and become famous.

Researches showed that the Tam Tho pottery kiln site was formed at the end of the first century AD with many kilns of different sizes. Each kiln has many layers of soil ground showing that they were used many times and last for a long time.

Most of the kilns excavated in Tam Tho are not intact, with completely collapsed domes. They were made of clay reinforced by bamboo woven sheets to make them firm.

Tam Tho pottery – quintessence of Thanh Hoa pottery art hinh anh 2 Tam Tho pottery products reflect the rich history, culture and talents of Tam Tho pottery village artisans (Photo: baothanhhoa.vn)
Today, although Tam Tho ceramic products are no longer available on the market, the precious artifacts discovered here are carefully preserved at Tam Tho Pottery Museum in Thinh Van village, Quang Thinh commune of Thanh Hoa city.

The artifacts on display are diverse in types, designs, and styles, and are associated with the daily life of villagers at that time, reflecting the rich history, culture and talents of Tam Tho pottery village artisans.

Many artifacts, which date back from the 1st to 3rd centuries, are still quite intact. They are divided into three major types of terracotta pottery, crockery and glazed pottery. 

With an open space, Tam Tho Pottery Museum is a favourite destination for both visitors and researchers.

In addition to displaying ancient artifacts, Tam Tho Pottery Museum also offers visitors with pottery-making experiences to give them a better insight of the traditional craft.

Thanh Hoa pottery lovers are seeking ways to restore the quintessence of the craft./.
VNA