Ancient artifacts, including precious stones, were unearthed during archaeological excavations at a tower in Bac Lieu belonging to the Oc Eo culture.

Vinh Hung Tower, also known as Tra Long Tower or Luc Hien Tower, is an ancient tower located over 20km northwest of Bac Lieu city, in Trung Hung 1B hamlet, Vinh Hung A commune, Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province. (Photo: Chanh Da/TTXVN).

Vinh Hung Tower (located in Trung Hung 1B hamlet, Vinh Hung A commune, Vinh Loi district, Bac Lieu province) is a tower with a long and rich history, but it was not until the early 20th century that scientists became aware of it and began to study it.

Here, archaeologists have unearthed many extremely valuable artifacts, including numerous stone, bronze, ceramic, and precious stone statues, marking a relatively long period of existence and development (from the 4th to the 13th centuries AD).

Based on this architectural value, in 1992 the Ministry of Culture, Information and Sports (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) decided to classify Vinh Hung Tower as a National Monument.

Most recently, on July 18, 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Le Thanh Long signed Decision No. 694/QD-TTg classifying Vinh Hung Tower as a Special National Monument.

Amidst the vast expanse of rice paddies stretching as far as the eye can see, Vinh Hung Tower stands out against the green backdrop of trees, grass, and flowers. The tower is an architectural complex with a simple exterior yet retains the solemnity of a unique cultural and religious structure. In this peaceful and tranquil setting, Vinh Hung Tower evokes memories of a bygone era.

According to historical records, archaeologists believe that the first person to discover Vinh Hung Tower and announce it under the name Tra Long Tower in 1911 was Lunet de Lajonquière, a French scholar. Following this, in 1917, Henri Parmentier (a French archaeologist) surveyed the area and published his findings in the journal of the French School of Far Eastern Studies (BEFEO) under the new name - Luc Hien Tower.

In 1990, archaeologists from the Institute of Social Sciences in Ho Chi Minh City (now the Institute for Sustainable Development of the Southern Region), in collaboration with the Minh Hai Provincial Museum (now Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces), conducted a survey and excavated an exploratory trench, discovering several artifacts such as a deity's head, a grinding stone, and a Linga-Yoni.

Based on that, the tower remains were initially determined to date from the 7th-8th centuries AD, belonging to the late stage of the Oc Eo culture.

Based on observation, researchers believe that the architecture of Vinh Hung Tower is unlike that of Champa towers in central Vietnam. Vinh Hung Tower is not built in stepped levels, does not have false pillars or columns, shows no traces of decorative patterns on the exterior or in front of the tower, and does not have false doors on the back or sides.

A particularly rare feature in the religious architecture of ancient cultures influenced by Indian civilization is that the tower's entrance is not built facing east but rather southwest.

Structurally, the foundation of the Vinh Hung Tower uses alternating stones and bricks to prevent subsidence. The tower's architecture is square, with angled corners at the front and back, featuring three symmetrical angled corners at both the front and back.

The architectural plans and materials, along with remnants of daily life, reveal that the material cultural traces found at Vinh Hung Tower bear the distinct cultural and technical characteristics of the Southern Mekong Delta region, sharing a common horizontal alignment and development tradition.

The Vinh Hung Tower has a fairly large ground area (191m wide from East to West; 6.9m long from North to South) and is built to a height of over 10m, with fairly thick brick walls, creating a load capacity of tens of thousands of tons after construction.

The tower was built on weak soil, and the use of a foundation spread over a wide area to prevent subsidence was a very clever solution by the ancient inhabitants. As a result, after more than a thousand years of existence, the tower's subsidence has been negligible.

Inside the Vinh Hung Tower is the Linga-Yoni symbol, the source of all creativity in the fertility beliefs of the Oc Eo people.

According to legend, before performing the ritual sacrifice to the gods, the officiant would bathe the Linga-Yoni symbol in fragrant water. The fragrant water flowed through a system of pipes to the side of the tower, where it was stored in two sacred wells. The people of Oc Eo would take the sacred water and apply it to themselves, hoping for good health, abundant growth, prosperity, and many children.

In 2002 and 2011, the Center for Archaeological Research, in collaboration with the Bac Lieu Provincial Museum, conducted excavations around the tower. During the excavation, archaeologists discovered many artifacts, including bronze statues, stone lingas, and fragments of roof tiles or bricks from ancient times.

Currently, five ancient artifacts, considered national treasures, were found during archaeological excavations at Vinh Hung Tower: a statue of the goddess Lakshmi, a statue of the god Sada Shiva, a head of the god Shiva, a statue of a male deity, and a relief of the goddess Uma.