Tombs of the Sa Huynh civilization of more than 2,000 years ago have been dug
up in Tre village in Tay Tra district, in the central province of Quang Ngai.

The tombs were unearthed at a depth of 1 meter. The site is
only 2-5m from the bank of Tang River, around 5km from a famous archaeological site
in the Tang River valley.

Dr. Doan Ngoc Khoi, from the Quang Ngai Museum, said the tombs are located close
together.

Archaeologists have worked for over two months on Tang
riverbed. They unearthed a prehistoric archeological site which can shed new
light on an ancient civilization that once flourished in Quang Ngai province.

In a part of the river where water was dried up to build a
water reservoir for a nearby dam, they excavated tools that date back to 4,000
years ago. The tools could have been used in daily life and in production
activities.

Along the river, the team also dug up pottery products
belonging to a pre-Sa Huynh period and buried jars containing items typical of
the Bronze Age’s Sa Huynh culture, which dates roughly to 1,000 BC-200 AD.

Another important finding was that stone tools belonging to
the Neolithic Era (prior to Sa Huynh culture) discovered in the Tang river
valley are actually similar to what was previously found in the Central
Highlands.

Khoi said that it was possible that the New Stone Age
tribesmen had crossed over the Truong Son mountain range, and reached the
coastal delta of Vietnam’s
central region. Their migration had laid foundations for the development of Sa
Huynh civilization in the following Bronze Age era when the use of early bronze
tools appeared in the central and southern provinces of Vietnam.

However, a water reservoir will be constructed right at the
archeological site to serve a nearby dam, which could endanger other unfound
artifacts.

The first priority is to find a way to evacuate all the
findings out of the area before it is flooded, Doctor Doan Ngoc Khoi said.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism previously
permitted archaeological excavation at the Tang river valley until May 15.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) on March 30
asked the Quang Ngai authorities to start the construction of the dam on April
5.

The Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism
asked Quang Ngai authorities to negotiate with the MARD to postpone the project
until the archaeological project is complete.

“If the MARD decides to implement the project as of April 5,
the entire archaeological site will be flooded,” Dr. Khoi said.

Sa Huynh Culture is a jar burial culture on the coastal
plains of central and southern Vietnam,
which boasts a distinctive decorative style of bronze axes, daggers, and
ornaments.

Source: VNE/Tuoi Tre