Artifacts which have recently been discovered at a Cham relic site in Phong Le Village, Hoa Tho Dong Ward, Cam Le District, Da Nang, during an ongoing excavation from 18 July until 20 August are highly appreciated by researchers for demonstrating the special value of the Champa culture.

An artifact featuring Laga snake’s head found at an excavation at a Cham relic site in Phong Le Village

This is the 3^rd excavation to have been conducted in at this venue, after in 2011 and 2012.

The ongoing excavation of an over 300m2 area at this site is being carried out by archaeologists from the Faculty of History of the Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Valuable finds at the site included a statue of Sinha, or lion, Garuda legendary bird's head, an elephant-shaped altar, pieces of unique decorative patterns, and fragments of bricks.

According to the preliminary assessment made by Master Nguyen Huu Manh, whose major is archeology at the Faculty of History of the Ha Noi University of Social Sciences and Humanities, most notable amongst the amazing discoveries is the round, large sized statue of Sinha which was decorated intricately, especially in the abdomen and head.

This special artifact will be added to a rich collection of exhibits on display at the city-based Museum of Cham Sculptures. Also, it will be used for the research into the Champa culture in the coming time.

To date, through the excavations, archaeologists have discovered 2 special architectural features.

One is believed to be the main tower which features a ‘scared hole’ that serves the religious activities of the Cham people.

Remnants of this type of architecture have been only discovered at the Cam Mit relic site in group 3, Hoa Phong Commune’s Cam Toai Dong Village, Hoa Vang District, Da Nang, and at the Ponagar Cham Tower complex located in Khanh Hoa Province’s Nha Trang City.

The other is thought to be a gate tower leading to the main tower.

Master Nguyen Huu Manh remarked that the findings during excavations conducted over recent years clearly show that Phong Le Village and its surrounding areas are home to a complex of temples which play a particularly important role in the culture and history of the former Da Nang land, and Central Viet Nam as a whole.

Mr Ho Tuan Tuan, the Director of the city’s Museum of Cham Sculptures, also said that a wide range of valuable Cham artifacts such as the statues of Linga and Visnu, sculptures of lions, elephants, and Nandini, which is the Indian Goddess of Cows, are on display here.

These exhibits were discovered and handed over to the museum by Mr C. Paris, the owner of the Phong Le plantation, over 100 years ago.  

Mr Tuan believed that these archaeological finds further affirmed the fact that Da Nang is still home to a large number of ruins of Cham towers dating back to the 10^th century.

The Museum of Cham Sculptures has asked the Department of Culture and Sports to keep the Cham relic sites intact, and make them new inviting venues for both locals and visitors in the coming time.

“We will recommend the recognition of the Cham site in Phong Le Village as a city-level relic site, and then as a national-level one in the coming time”,  Mr Tuan said.