National treasures were in the pile of scrap 22 years ago

Looking for scrap on the sand hill of Tra Loc village (Hai Lang district), the man found a 'copper pot' as a national treasure.

In early 2020, the Tra Loc bronze drum was recognized by the Prime Minister as a national treasure. This artifact on display in the museum of Quang Tri province has an Dong Son cultural dating to about 2,500 years ago.

Tra Loc bronze drum is the fourth national treasure of Quang Tri province.(Photo: Hoang Tao).

The bronze drum was discovered 22 years ago, completely by accident. In March 1998, while searching for war scraps on a sand hill, Mr. Hoang Cong Son (residing in Tra Loc hamlet, Hai Xuan commune, Hai Lang district) suddenly heard a metallic call. He dug up to see a large "copper pot" , thinking that rare antiques should be stored away. Then he took the ceremony to the sand hill to give thanks. The villagers found it strange and curious to know that Mr. Son dug up a bronze object with a star on the top and a handle on the bottom, so they informed the authorities of Hai Xuan commune.

At this time, Mr. Le Duc Tho (currently Deputy Director of the Center for Management of Monuments and Museum of Quang Tri) through the commune grasped the information and identified this as a bronze drum . With the responsibility of a museum official, Mr. Tho came to Mr. Son to find out, but he said that "he sold bronze drums to others".

However, when Hai Lang district police and local authorities came in to verify the artifacts hidden in Mr. Son's house, they were not sold.

In those days, hearing that Tra Loc villagers had dug up the drums, antiquities from Hue, Da Nang and Hanoi flocked to the village to ask.

Assigned by the subordinate to report the incident, Mr. Truong Sy Tien (81 years old, resident of Dong Ha City), at that time was Vice Chairman of Quang Tri People's Committee, immediately telephoned Hai Lang District and police for the guard. at Mr. Son's house."I asked the local authorities absolutely not to let people sell copper drums out of the area , " Mr. Tien recalls.

Mr. Truong Sy Tien, former Vice Chairman of Quang Tri People's Committee, said that the province had exported VND 50 million to give a reward for the man who found the drum.(Photo: Hoang Tao).

Thanks to the timely guidance of the provincial leaders, the copper plant was kept in Hai Lang district. About the antiques dealer looking for ways to not buy a drum and retreated.

Quang Tri Provincial Museum then sent a document to the Department of Culture and Information (old) to export to Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee to take appropriate measures to recover the bronze drum. At this time, the Law on Cultural Heritage has not yet been born, so there are no regulations on rewarding people who discover artifacts. However, Quang Tri province decided to spend the budget to pay Mr. Hoang Cong Son for discovering antiques and rewarding related units.

After being persuaded, Mr. Son agreed to hand over the "copper pot" to Quang Tri province. Mr. Tho recalled, Quang Tri province spent more than 10 million VND on Mr. Son, a huge amount of money 22 years ago.

Tra Loc bronze drums are displayed in the museum of Quang Tri province.(Photo: Hoang Tao).

Within 3 days after receiving information about the bronze drum discovered by the people, Quang Tri brought the artifact to the provincial museum to store and promote its value.

According to Ms. Cai Thi Vuong, Deputy Director of the Center for Management of Monuments and Museums in Quang Tri, the Tra Loc drums meet all the factors to become a national treasure. This is a typical original artifact, unique form, sophisticated with unique bronze casting technology.

Tra Loc bronze drum is closely associated with the history of Quang Tri land, proving that this is the intersection between two cultures of Dong Son in the north and Sa Huynh in the south. The appearance of a bronze drum in Quang Tri shows the widespread spread to the Middle Central of the Dong Son culture in the North.

The Tra Loc bronze drum has a slim body, a flat base, a funeral, the drum face in the middle is decorated with 10-pointed star and 7 patterned rims including motifs: 4 cranes flying counter-clockwise, tangential circle There is a middle, dot, and serrated dots. The drum is decorated with 4 boat-shaped patterns with people rowing and serrated motifs and dots.

The body of the drum is decorated with 8 cows of different sizes and patterns with dotted and serrated motifs. The straps have two pairs of semi-annular straps, the decorative straps on the rope.

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