Discovered a thousand years old dragon head

This dragon head was found by the people of Gia Vien commune, Gia Phuong district, Ninh Binh province in the homeland of King Dinh Tien Hoang, currently on display at the Ninh Binh Provincial Museum.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong, 74 years old, head of Dinh Temple relic management board in Kim Lu village, Van Ha village, Gia Phuong commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province said: 'August 1997, while digging foundation to make furnace Le Van Hien, the son of my son-in-law, discovered a terracotta dragon head located about 4 meters deep underground. The dragon head is protected by brick rows lined up neatly around 4. Too panic, my son-in-law rushed back and called me out. Seeing strange things, thinking that this is a historical relic, I brought it up, brought it to the Hoang Long River to wash out the surrounding soil and brought it to Ky Lan Pagoda for about a year. After that, I handed it over to Hoa Lu ancient vestige management board so that tourists could admire it.

However, it is regrettable that during the digging process, Mr. Hien unintentionally caused a dragon's head to be chopped on one ear, so the relic was no longer intact.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Nga - an archaeologist in Ninh Binh said: 'Calling a strange dragon head because this sacred animal carries the element of terracotta dragon head as usual, there are also elements not of a dragon's head. , but the dragon element is more dominant. The dragon head dates back to the Dinh - Le period more than 1000 years ago .

The strange dragon head was found.Photo: TT&VH

From the dragon neck to the top of the head is 30 cm high, 13 cm in the neck. From mouth to man 26 cm, from one eye to the other 16 cm, mouth width 11 cm, mouth open 5 cm. From the lips to the edge of the mouth 14 cm, the tongue is 5.5 cm long, 4 cm wide, with all 26 teeth equally divided into two jaws, round neck with a diameter of 13.5 cm across. The dragon head weight is 6.6 kg.

The dragon's head has two protruding round eyes, the eyes of the eyes are extended back, the corners of the mouth are long and wide, there is a sunken line and dents run around the edges. Two antennae grow on the bridge of the nose hanging, bending into the dragon's mouth. The two curving ears are made of uniform curves, the mane has two layers close together, shown with circular curves located behind the ears. Round neck with many scales covered.

The most prominent non-dragon element is the mouth. If the dragon's mouth is long, the jaws are curving, the nose is big, the teeth are sparse and jagged, the appearance of majestic looks is here, the mouth is as flat as a speculum and has teeth. Jagged lower jaw teeth, jaws on long, large teeth are not pointed, adjacent to each other looks like human teeth, racing forward rather than in a vertical direction. Looking at the mouth itself, it looks like a duckling. The long part of the tongue protrudes into the upper jaw. So when the mouth is closed, the upper teeth will be horizontal to the lower teeth.

The land that the father and son of Chu found in the dragon's head when it was once the background of an ancient communal house, then turned into a brick kiln by the people in the commune, now the clean water plant is built here. The land is located next to the Hoang Long River, which is also the waterway that King Ly Thai To passed when he moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long Citadel.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, director of Ninh Binh Museum said: 'Currently Ninh Binh museum has exhibited 2 dragon heads. A dragon head was found in Thien Ton and Hoa Lu dates back to the Ly - Tran period, also with earthenware and holding jade as many other dragon heads were found. And the dragon head was found in Gia Vien, Gia Phuong for the first time we saw and brought many strange elements. Dragons do not suck in jewels but hold a flat circular object, the chin part also has a beard-like look.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Nga, who once studied this relic explained the date of the dragon head. 'The strange dragon head was discovered in Dinh Tien Hoang's hometown, bringing elements of terracotta ducks that found quite a lot in the area of ​​the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, (especially the mines), earthenware materials light yellow, not very high calcination, like the terracotta animals mentioned above, initially identified as a dragon dating to the 10th century, Dinh - Le '

Based on history books, it can be seen that the dragon head also has architectural features that are decorated in the palace of the king of Dinh Le. In addition, dragon heads were found right on Dinh Tien Hoang's hometown, so the confirmation of the age of the sacred objects of King Dinh - Le was more and more convincing.

For that reason, after the dragon head was found in Gia Vien commune, the commune People's Committee transferred the sacred animal to the Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel Management Board, Ninh Binh for display at the Le King's temple for tourists to visit. admire.

The strange dragon head is a testament to the uniqueness of the architectural art of the palace of Dinh - Tien Le. At the same time, the discovery and storage of relics have great significance in preserving the cultural and historical values ​​of Ninh Binh Museum.