Protect and promote the value of ancient boats discovered in Bac Ninh

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just sent a document to the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province, requesting the implementation of measures to protect, preserve and promote the value of ancient boats discovered in Cong Ha quarter, Song Lieu ward.

The two boats were at a depth of about 1.5m, about 2m apart.

In this document, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province to arrange forces to protect safety, security and order in the area where the ancient boat was discovered and excavated; prevent and promptly handle all activities that endanger the safety of the ancient boat and relics and antiquities; and organize propaganda on the protection of cultural heritage.

At the same time, urgently organize assessments and accurately determine the types of relics, nature and age of archaeological sites; propose to organize conferences and seminars to advise on solutions for management, conservation and promotion of values according to the provisions of law on cultural heritage.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism requested Bac Ninh province to soon have a plan and solution to protect and promote the value of the excavation site and measures to adjust, preserve and establish scientific records for ancient boat relics.

Previously, on March 4, 2025, the People's Committee of Bac Ninh province allowed the emergency excavation of this ancient boat relic.

Initial assessment results show that this is a catamaran, the remains discovered at the scene are two structural hulls completely submerged under water. The upper structure has been completely lost (possibly due to being dismantled).

Although the age of the boat cannot be determined yet, and there are no C14 dating results, it is possible to confirm the presence of this type of boat in Vietnamese history, specifically during the Ly Dynasty, through historical records.

The uniqueness of the ancient boat is that it is built entirely of wood, without the use of metal in the structural parts and connections of the boat. Based on the sources of documents about ancient boats, scientists assess that this is a boat relic with a complex scale, structure and technique, the only one discovered so far not only in Vietnam but also in the world.

The boat body is crafted using the technique of carving a single tree trunk, joining the planks with mortise and tenon joints, then the mortise and tenon joints are fastened with wooden nails.

Experts and scientists agree that the specific age of the artifact will await the results of C14 analysis, but based on the technique, it shows that this type of boat could have been built in Vietnam, a continued development of the Dong Son boat building technique through comparing the bottom of the two hulls with the dugout structure.

The discovery of the ancient boat is considered a particularly important archaeological discovery, contributing to expanding understanding of the history of boat building techniques, waterway transportation and material culture of ancient Vietnamese residents. This is also the basis for Bac Ninh to orientate the construction of a model for preserving and promoting heritage values, serving scientific research and community education in the coming time.

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