New discovery in the heart of Hoi An ancient town

Not only has Hoi An - the current world cultural heritage with over 1,300 architectural monuments, there is also a Hoi An of the seventeenth century in the ground just discovered.

From an urgent electricity .

The project to renovate infrastructure of Hoi An old town has just been approved with a total investment of VND 29.5 billion. In addition to the items of sidewalks, trees, lighting, the project also has many underground works, so all roads have been dug deep below 2 m.

At the same time of the project construction (August 2006), the archaeological delegation of Hanoi National University and Chieu Hoa Women's University (Japan) consisted of 14 members, including 3 archaeologists. Japan cooperated to excavate at 3 locations in Hoi An, at No. 16 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, 76/18 Tran Phu and Tran Quy Cap School.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Kikuchi Seiichi, at the roads that are under construction of the electric system, underground water drainage levels in the old town have seen many vestiges of residence, architecture and important relics. Therefore, the delegation proposed to the appropriate authorities to take appropriate measures. The Department of Heritage (Ministry of Culture and Information) has urgently requested to suspend construction.

Traces of wooden poles (Photo: TTO)

At the end of October 2006, Quang Nam province decided to suspend the construction of the project. The reason is that the construction process has discovered many archaeological sites located deep in the heart of the ancient city, and many construction items need to dig down to 2m will affect the architectural monuments above. .

. to an Hoi An in the ground

Mr. Vo Hong Viet, an archaeologist in charge of Hoi An Center for Conservation Management - who was sent to follow the renovation project, said: 'On Le Loi street, many traces of wood architecture reveal '.

Located at a depth of 2 m from the sidewalk, in the East - West direction, 4 wooden poles were inserted to hold the walls. The piles are separated from 0.6-0.7 m, the top of the pile is 0.1 m higher than the wall. On the pile, there is a perforated mortar to thread the wooden rod connecting the piles together.

Particularly the wooden wall consists of many overlapping planks, the top edge of the board has a U-shaped concave, the lower edge chisels rectangular holes. Based on the location and structure of this architecture, it can be assumed that this is a kind of poles holding ancient wooden grounds.

The results of the verification of the number of pieces of pottery, chinaware, porcelain and stone on the excavated wall indicate that the artifacts dating back to the 17th century, some pieces of porcelain dating to the XVII-XVIII century Especially there is a Hizen - Japanese ceramic piece sandwiched between wooden poles and walls.

The survey results of excavation ditches in the East and in the middle of Le Loi road also showed traces of discovered wood architecture that continued to run to the East and about 20 m from the south of the sand dunes, parallel to the Hoai Hien river bank. now on.

Some documents show that the history of Hoi An ancient town is associated with the deposition process to the south of Thu Bon River flowing through Hoi An. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the northern bank of Hoi An river was located in the area between the current Tran Phu and Nguyen Thai Hoc streets, 100 meters south of Ong Voi communal house. The position of the wooden poles was also found to be at the same distance as Ong Voi communal house, therefore, this could be the north bank of the river flowing through Hoi An in the late 17th century.

Traces of wooden poles hold ancient land (Photo: TTO)

Also at the front of the road at house number 84 Le Loi, the report of Associate Prof. Dr. Kikuchi Seiichi discovered 2,401 gourd pieces, 2,624 pieces of porcelain, 11 coins mainly of Chinese origin, some Vietnamese and ceramic pottery. Hizen - Japan.

In particular, there are many objects such as wooden poles with poles to make embankments to hold soil; 1 firewood column; drainage holes built with bricks, medium lime, sandy bottom, 30 cm wide clay, 22 cm high.

The wall of excavated pits has differentiated cultural layers, residence traces are located at a depth of 2 m, dating back to about the 17th century. What all scientists affirmed is that the cultural layer in the underground of Hoi An is still very thick, many artifacts and archaeological sites need to continue to study and explore to learn more about Hoi An in past with many values ​​of exchange and acculturation of East - West culture.

With the past discoveries, Hoi An is expected to build a thematic museum to fully understand the history of Hoi An ancient urban development and development in the seventeenth century, while serving the work. Research, conservation and sightseeing tours.

QUOC HAI