Ancient artefacts of Oc Eo culture (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vestiges of Oc Eo culture in Ba The mountain in An Giang and NenChua in Kien Giang in the country’s southern region were proposed to seek UNESCO’srecognition as a world cultural heritage, heard a workshop in Hanoi on April25.
The workshopwas held by the Vietnam Academy of Social Science (VASS) to review studies ondifferent aspects of Oc Eo culture since it was discovered seven decades ago.
Speaking at theevent, VASS President Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Thuan said Oc Eo is acenturies-old culture in southern Vietnam.
Remains ofthe culture have been found in a vast area, including most of the Mekong Delta andthe south of the Central Highlands (Cat Tien in Lam Dong province), he noted.
During theevent, scholars explored values of the Oc Eo culture relics in Ba The mountainand Nen Chua and proposed to formulate a plan for the preservation of the area anddevelop a nomination dossier to earn a UNESCO-recognised heritage title for theOc Eo culture space in Ba The and Nen Chua.
Flourishingbetween the first and the seventh century, Phu Nam Kingdom covered a large areaof the southern plain and hosted the Oc Eo culture in An Giang province. Afterbeing forgotten and buried for thousands of years, traces of the Oc Eo culturewere discovered in Ba The – Oc Eo area in An Giang.
In 1944,French archaeologist Louis Mallecet carried out excavations at the site, alongwith his colleagues from the French School of the Far East. They unearthedobjects offering proof of a flourishing civilization and well-developed tradewith other areas in Southeast Asia.
People in thecivilization produced many handicrafts, including ceramics, as well as had theability to refine copper, iron and tin, along with creating silver and goldjewellery.-VNA
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