On December 29th, in Hanoi, the Thang Long - Hanoi Heritage Conservation Center, in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology, organized a scientific workshop and presented a preliminary report on the results of the exploratory excavation of the Kinh Thien Palace foundation area in 2025.
The 2025 excavation covers a total area of 580m², with the excavation pit located beneath the foundation of the Artillery building (CT04). To clear the excavation site, the building was dismantled. The dismantling process was reported to UNESCO and carried out under controlled conditions in accordance with the guidelines of the International Charter for the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites 1964 (Venice Charter 1964) and the Vietnamese Law on Cultural Heritage 2024.
The 2025 excavation, covering a total area of 580m², yielded many new insights. Photo: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to the preliminary report on the 2025 archaeological excavation, Associate Professor Dr. Tong Trung Tin, President of the Vietnam Archaeological Association, stated that the stratigraphy of the current excavation area is 6 meters thick, comprising 6 cultural layers, extending from the Pre-Thang Long period (7th - 10th centuries) to the modern period (19th - 20th centuries). The thickest layer, nearly 3 meters thick, is the Le Dynasty cultural layer, consisting of successive Early Le and Later Le layers.
Corresponding to the cultural layers are architectural remains from different periods, including: a row of red bricks from the Tran Dynasty (13th - 14th centuries), a row of gray bricks from the early Le Dynasty (15th - 16th centuries), and a stone paving foundation for the Imperial Road.
The excavation also uncovered 14 architectural foundations of the Kính Thiên Palace during the Lê Trung Hưng period (17th-18th centuries), bringing the total number of exposed foundations of the Kính Thiên Palace over the years 2011, 2023, and 2025 to 30/36 foundations, including single and double foundations. During the Nguyễn dynasty (19th century), 2 water conduits and 26/64 foundations of the Long Thiên Palace were also unearthed.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Tong Trung Tin, the remains of Long Thien Palace perfectly match the east-west boundaries of the French colonial-era artillery building. The unearthed foundation columns and drainage system confirm that Long Thien Palace was built by King Gia Long according to the characteristic architecture of the Nguyen dynasty, "double-tiered roofs," with the front hall and main hall placed on the same foundation and connected by an auxiliary hall.
The excavation shed light on the scale and foundations of the Kính Thiên Palace during the Lê dynasty, the Long Thiên Palace during the Nguyễn dynasty, and for the first time discovered traces of culture from the Lý, Trần, and Pre-Thăng Long periods.
In particular, the foundation of the Kính Thiên Palace, as recorded in official historical documents, was entirely artificially constructed. The entire area was compacted using standardized methods involving clay and broken materials, before the positions of the column foundations were clearly and completely planned, most notably the foundations of the Kính Thiên Palace during the Lê Trung Hưng period.
Based on the excavated foundation system, it can be tentatively confirmed that the east-west boundary of the Kính Thiên Palace comprises nine bays. The north-south boundary still requires further research to accurately determine the layout of the Kính Thiên Palace during the Lê dynasty.
Based on architectural remains, archaeologists conclude that the foundations and column bases of the Kính Thiên Palace during the early and later Lê dynasties (15th - 18th centuries) were built on clay foundations from the Trần dynasty (13th - 14th centuries), the Lý dynasty (11th - 12th centuries), and the pre-Lý period (7th - 10th centuries).
The system of column foundations was unearthed during the archaeological excavation. Photo: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
According to historical records, the Kính Thiên Palace during the Lê dynasty was built on the foundation of the Thiên An Palace during the Lý and Trần dynasties. At the site of a small excavation pit, authentic cultural traces from these three periods have been unearthed.
Currently, while the remains of the Kính Thiên Palace from the Lê dynasty and the Long Thiên Palace from the Nguyễn dynasty have been confirmed, the story of the Thiên An Palace from the Lý and Trần dynasties in this area is only initially confirmed by scientific evidence, namely cultural layers which are essentially earthen mounds from the Lý and Trần dynasties superimposed on the earthen mounds from the Lê dynasty above.
From this, scientists believe that the earthen embankments from the Ly-Tran dynasties may be the remains of Thien An Palace. While extensive excavation of the Ly culture layer for verification is not possible, comparison with other documents such as ancient texts, archaeological evidence from the Ly dynasty that has appeared abundantly around the Kinh Thien Palace foundation, and field investigation evidence in the buffer zone suggests that Professor Tran Quoc Vuong's 1966 hypothesis that Thien An Palace was located in the same position as Kinh Thien Palace has a scientific basis.
To confirm this, the interdisciplinary fields of history and archaeology need to continue proposing appropriate and long-term research solutions for the future.
Scientists unanimously agree that the 2025 archaeological excavation at the Kính Thiên Palace foundation site has yielded many new insights, demonstrating the paramount importance and sacred position of the Kính Thiên Palace foundation to the history and culture of Thăng Long in particular, and Đại Việt in general, within the nation's millennia-long historical and cultural development.
The brick bears information about the construction date of the Kính Thiên Palace. Photo: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
This also provides the most reliable scientific basis for deciding on the strategy for restoring the Kính Thiên Main Hall and its space during the Lê dynasty.
Regarding the plan to restore the Kính Thiên Main Hall, Associate Professor Dr. Tống Trung Tín believes that it must be carried out under the guidance of UNESCO in a systematic, specific, and detailed manner, along with guidance from the International Council on Monuments and Sites - ICOMOS and drawing on the experience of Japan.
Source: https://congluan.vn/phat-hien-dau-tich-van-hoa-tien-thang-long-tai-nen-dien-kinh-thien-10324705.html
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