The Thang Long Imperial Citadel Celebrated Great Discoveries by Vietnam Archaeologists

      On Dec 21, 2010, Prof. Bui Mihn Tri, vice director of the Institute of Archaeology, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, was invited to give a presentation on the discovery of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long in Institute of Archaeology, CASS, Beijing. Vice Director Bai Yunxiang from warmly welcomed Prof. Bui Mihn Tri and presided the talk held in IACASS.

      The central sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – Ha noi is a united heritage comprises of an area of more than 47,000 square meters of Archaeological Site locates at 18 Hoang Dieu and more than 138,000 square meters of the Imperial Citadel buildings. On August 1, 2010, the 34th meeting of World Heritage Committee in Brasilia agreed to inscribe the central sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long – Ha noi as the 900th site of UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Committee highly praised this site over three outstanding characteristics: the variety of relics remain at the site, the length of citadel’s cultural history and its continuity as a power center.

      The Thang Long Imperial Citadel was ordered to be built by the first Emperor of Ly Viet Dynasty in the year of 1010 A.D., marking the independence of the Dai Viet. This new capital was named as “Thang Long” and established as the politic, economic, and cultural center of north Vietnam from Ly Viet Dynasty (李朝，1010－1225 A.D.) through Tran Dynasty (陈朝，1225－1413 A.D.）, Later Le Dynasty（后黎朝, 1428－1789 A.D.），Nhà Nguyn Dynasty，（阮朝, 1802－1945 A.D.）， finally down to the French Colonial Period. Archaeological investigation shows that the early city was constructed on the remains of a Chinese fortress dating back to the 7th century A.D.

      Since 2002, the archaeology team from the Institute of Archaeology, VASS, has been investigating and excavating at this site. As Prof. Bui Mihn Tri reported, Vietnam archaeologists discovered three cultural layers underground, covering the period from Da Lai Period, through Ly Viet and Tran Period, to Later Le and Nhà Nguyn Period. Prof. Bui stressed that archaeological materials reflect a unique South-East Asian culture between influences coming from China in the north and the ancient Kingdom of Champa in the south.