Archaeological excavation research of Duong Long Cham tower cluster

Duong Long Cham Tower Cluster is a special national monument, consisting of 3 towers located in Binh An commune, Gia Lai province - Photo: N.D.

On August 7, Mr. Bui Tinh, director of Gia Lai Museum, said that the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism had just organized a team to inspect the site at Duong Long tower cluster to study the archaeological excavation plan around this Cham tower cluster.

Duong Long Cham Towers are located on a high hill in the middle of rice fields in Binh An Commune, Gia Lai Province. This tower cluster was built in the late 12th century, with unique architecture of Champa culture mixed with Khmer architecture.

The tower cluster campus is about 370m2 wide ^, including 3 towers, of which the middle tower is 39m high, the tallest Cham architectural brick tower in Southeast Asia.

The South Tower is 33m high, with intact architecture. The roof has 4 floors decorated with elephant head and lion body motifs.

The North Tower is 32m high, with many similarities to the South Tower. The decorative motifs still have traces of lions, people sitting cross-legged, people dancing...

Many valuable artifacts have been found in this tower complex such as reliefs of Brahma, Indra, Naga, Makara, and Kala. Currently, the tower complex shows signs of deterioration.

The central tower lost its door and lobby, the roof of the South tower collapsed in many parts, and the North tower was the most severely damaged with its body hollowed out.

The area around the tower cluster was excavated three times in 2006, 2007 and 2009. After the excavations, authorities discovered open-air temple architecture, Yoni statues and thousands of valuable artifacts. However, experts believe that there are still many valuable artifacts that have not been fully excavated.

According to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province, although it has been renovated and embellished, the architectural components including the base and foot of the tower have not been renovated yet. Currently, they are in a state of continued degradation with a high risk of collapse and loss. The original architectural components need to be renovated and restored.

In addition, most of the relic site has not been fully excavated, so there is not enough basis for comprehensive restoration. Therefore, this agency proposed to conduct archaeological excavations in the area adjacent to previously excavated areas.

According to Mr. Bui Tinh, the cultural sector is currently developing an excavation plan and calculating the area to be surveyed to submit to the competent authority for decision.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nghien-cuu-khai-quat-khao-co-cum-thap-cham-duong-long-20250807135644115.htm