How are the ancient stone steles in Tu Luong now?

(GLO)- Early last June, my colleagues and I returned to Tu Luong village (Tan An commune, Dak Po district) to visit the Cham artifact containing the most characters, nearly 600 years old, the only one remaining in the Central Highlands.

Before coming here, I opened my notebook and reviewed the opinion of Professor-Doctor Nguyen Quang Ngoc - Vice President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association, who spoke in 2019, during a scientific event. According to him, Tu Luong stele is a very special discovery. These short lines give us valuable information to better understand the Central Highlands, the history of Vietnam and the history of the Champa Kingdom.

That is the opinion of a reputable scientist. In reality, it is regrettable that compared to 13 years ago, when this stele dated 1438 was still lying in a dense thorn bush, the inscriptions on it are now more blurred. The journey for this unique artifact to become a provincial relic is long and not everyone knows.

The characters on Tu Luong stele are getting more and more blurred every day due to improper preservation. Photo: Quang Tue

In June 2010, its secrets began to be revealed. Immediately after that, dozens of curious people visited the stele every day, hundreds of articles were published one after another, and countless wild legends appeared everywhere. However, nothing had changed compared to before, when more than 10 lines of sharp, clear, and mysterious letters on both sides of the stele still had no one to read or translate.

In early 2018, Professor Arlo Griffiths from the French School of the Far East (EFEO) came to Dak Po to translate the Tu Luong stele. Immediately, the fabrications behind this unique stele were eliminated, giving way to the scientific nature of the issue. On July 6, 2018, the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision No. 312/QD-UBND on approving the List of relic inventories and planning to establish a scientific dossier to propose ranking relics in the period 2018-2023 in the province, including the Tu Luong stele. In early October 2019, the Dak Po District People's Committee held a press conference to announce the content of the translation of the Tu Luong stele from ancient Cham to English and from English to Vietnamese.

The Tu Luong Cham Stele was scientifically documented and not long after that, on November 28, 2022, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee signed Decision No. 642/QD-UBND to rank this artifact as a provincial relic. The journey that lasted more than 10 years temporarily ended in a very worthy way.

Many people have hoped that, in the nearly 15 years since its discovery, the local government has taken appropriate measures to preserve and promote the value of this unique artifact. Resolution No. 04-NQ/HU dated September 28, 2021 of the Dak Po District Party Committee (term XVII) also affirmed that Tu Luong stele has value as a local tourist destination. However, to date, these positive signs have not yet shown signs of starting from Dak Po.

The narrow road leading to the site is still muddy in many parts and flooded quite deeply during the rainy season. The signboard with information about the Tu Luong stele attached to the fence of the site is still as flawed and untidy as it was when it was made. More worryingly, on a limited area of land (229 m2), no longer protected by trees as before, the stele is still damaged daily by the low corrugated iron roof and cement floor, at least causing the inscriptions to fade.

Talking to us not long ago, Dr. Bertrand Porte, an expert in ancient stone conservation at EFEO, said that the concrete that sealed the floor could be the cause of the damage to the Tu Luong stele. More specifically, according to him, "the soluble salts created by cement when exposed to moisture could have seeped into the stone." This warning was issued many years ago, unfortunately, to date the conservation situation of the Tu Luong stele has not changed.

The only new feature at the relic is that Dak Po District Youth Union coordinated with the district's Department of Culture and Information to place a QR code board next to the stele. Accessing via phone, we saw some information and images that have been widely known in the press in recent times.

In general, the investment in the Tu Luong Cham Stele relic has not been significant. Why is there such a situation? The main reason is still funding. According to Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hien, Head of the District Department of Culture and Information, like many previous years, in 2023, the district budget has not been allocated for activities to preserve and promote the value of Tu Luong Stele.

With all the observations from Dak Po over the past decades, I believe that the possibility of preserving the ancient stele in Tu Luong is still far away. And this is truly a very regrettable thing.

Source: Gia Lai Newspaper - NGUYEN QUANG TUE