The two artifacts that were discovered on June 22 by fishermen in the seas off Ha Tinh Province

The two Dong Son artifacts discovered in Ha Tinh Province late last month reaffirm Vietnam’s sovereignty over the East Sea area, says Trinh Sinh, an official of the Institute of Archeology.

According to Ha Tinh Province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, farmers in the village of Ky Loi in Ky Anh District, discovered on June 22 two artifacts that experts believe date back two millennia.

The artifacts, a bronze spear and an axe, were found on the Vung Ang seabed, about two kilometers off the coast of Ky Loi Village.

“This is the first time we’ve discovered Dong Son artifacts near the seabed,” Sinh said. “This proves that the residents of Dong Son culture had conducted trading activities near the sea area that borders their land.”

Sinh said during the Dong Son era, people traveled often by sea and had reached Kien Giang island in the eponymous Mekong Delta Province.

The East Sea area has also produced evidence of the Sa Huynh culture. “The fishing net and human bones we discovered around the East Sea coastal area in the past has proved that.”

Sinh dismissed speculation that the artifacts were simply collected by someone from the Nguyen dynasty.

“We believe that the habit of collecting ancient artifacts from Dong Son culture only began about 20 years ago and those from the Nguyen dynasty preferred to collect tea utensils or pottery.”

In a separate article written for the Lao Dong newspaper, Sinh wrote that Vietnam should develop the study of marine archaeology like many other countries in Southeast Asia.

“That way we can fully understand what is still left of the old civilization in our oceans,” Sinh wrote.

Reported by Y Nguyen