Digging the foundation of a house, an unexpected discovery dates back thousands of years

(NLDO)- A family in Ninh Binh , while digging the foundation of their house, discovered a section of earthen embankment believed to be the Hoa Lu citadel wall, about a thousand years ago.

On the morning of December 30, at the press and propaganda conference in December and the orientation of propaganda work in January 2025 organized by the Propaganda Department of Ninh Binh Provincial Party Committee, a representative of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh province informed about the preliminary results of the emergency excavation of the archaeological site in Tan Hoa village, Truong Yen commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh.

The embankment section is believed to date back to the Dinh - Tien Le dynasties and was discovered when people dug the foundation of their house. Photo: Ninh Binh Department of Culture and Sports

According to a report by a representative of the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh province, in mid-December 2024, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quy's family (residing in Tan Hoa village, Truong Yen commune) while digging the foundation for a house, dislodged a section of the embankment that was likely the Hoa Lu citadel wall.

Immediately after receiving the information, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh province sent specialized staff to work with the family. Determining that this could be a valuable relic from the Hoa Lu period (10th century), the department carried out urgent archaeological research to collect documents as a basis for proposing a plan to preserve and research the relic in the next phase.

"From December 22 to December 30, 2024, the department's professional department coordinated with experts from the Institute of Archaeology to conduct archaeological excavations. Initially, the collected documents were preserved through photos, drawings, and archaeological descriptions. The archaeological pit was digitized through 3D scanning so that it could be reconstructed for research in the next stages" - a representative of the Ninh Binh Department of Culture and Sports informed.

These are important data and bases for preserving and promoting the value of the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital heritage.

According to the report, the excavation results have provided new documents contributing to the study of the citadel wall and the construction process of Hoa Lu citadel wall, and also led to a more complete understanding of Hoa Lu capital under the Dinh - Tien Le dynasty in the 10th century.

With this result, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ninh Binh has proposed a number of urgent tasks such as: It is necessary to study and include the Northeast wall and locations related to Hoa Lu citadel wall in the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital Special National Monument Planning; study and develop a project and action program towards studying and clarifying the scale, techniques, distribution space, construction methods of the Northeast wall and other citadel walls of Hoa Lu ancient capital... to provide more research materials to clarify the appearance of the citadel rings, the structure of the citadel wall and the road leading to Hoa Lu capital during the Dinh - Tien Le period.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dao-mong-nha-phat-hien-bat-ngo-co-tu-ngan-nam-truoc-196241230144629761.htm