Admire the largest Dong Son bronze drum ever displayed in Hanoi.

The Dong Son culture, dating back 2,500-2,000 years, is an archaeological culture of the Metal Age in Vietnam. Archaeologists named it after the accidental discovery of a group of ancient bronze artifacts in Dong Son village on the banks of the Ma River ( Thanh Hoa province ) in 1924. Dong Son cultural artifacts are diverse and highly aesthetic, with the Dong Son bronze drum being a prime example.

Details of the largest Dong Son bronze drum ever found ( Video : Huu Nghi).

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Dating back to the 2nd-1st century BC, this bronze drum, collected in Sao Vang town (Thanh Hoa province), is the largest Dong Son bronze drum ever discovered in Vietnam. The drum is currently on display at the National Museum of History as part of the special exhibition "Echoes of the Dong Son."

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How the ancients managed to cast drums of such large size and intricate patterns remains an unsolved mystery.

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Excavations in 2014-2015 uncovered nearly 1,000 drum mold fragments, including both outer and inner molds, at the face, sides, back, and base of drums. The image shows a 3rd-4th century terracotta drum mold fragment unearthed at the Luy Lau site (Thuan Thanh, Bac Ninh ). The mold material was clay mixed with rice husks and small pebbles, fired at 900 degrees Celsius.

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Luy Lau was the administrative center of Giao Chi district during the Han dynasty, and also a center of economy, culture, and religion during the first ten centuries AD. In 1998, Japanese archaeologist Nishimura Masanari accidentally discovered a fragment of a drum mold in Luy Lau, causing a great stir in the research community.

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Patterns are created by engraving directly onto a mold (recessed lines) or by using a mold printing method (raised lines).

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Dong Son drums are mostly large in size, with the drumhead usually smaller than the drum body. They have a balanced and harmonious shape, clearly divided into three parts: the drum body, the drum back, and the drum base. Decorative patterns usually cover the entire drumhead, body, and back.

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A drumhead collected in Hang Bun (Hanoi), dating from the 2nd to the 1st century BC, has characteristics quite similar to the Dong Son bronze drums.

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The artifacts of the Dong Son culture are diverse, unique, and aesthetically pleasing: tools, household items, weapons, musical instruments, jewelry, etc., especially the bronze artifacts which were crafted with a high level of skill. Pictured is a bronze jar, dating from the 2nd to the 1st century BC.

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The Dong Son people created lamps with complex structures, incorporating human and animal figures. Pictured are bronze hanging lamps dating from the 2nd to 1st centuries BC.

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The lamp has a base in the shape of a kneeling bronze figure, dating from the 2nd to the 1st century BC.

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Bronze axe, dating from the 2nd to 1st century BC.

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A bronze dagger with a human-shaped handle, dating from the 2nd to 1st centuries BC.

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Based on scientific information obtained from the Luy Lau casting mold fragment, archaeologists from the National Museum of History have reconstructed the shape and patterns of the drum, which was cast by the Che Dong craft village (Thanh Hoa). The image shows the reconstructed bronze drum.

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The drum was cast to meet the technical and aesthetic requirements, including thickness, weight, patterns, and sound.

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The experimental casting process verified the information gathered from the blank mold fragments, providing a scientific basis for reconsidering the characteristics of the collection and the function of some related artifacts, thereby gaining a better understanding of the drum casting techniques of the Dong Son people.

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