Ancient pagoda discovered after archaeological excavation of Muong Luan tower

(CLO) The excavation of Muong Luan tower has revealed the architectural plan of an ancient pagoda and a number of metal Buddha statues, metal coins, household items, etc.

This information was announced by the leader of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Dien Bien province at a meeting to report preliminary results of archaeological excavation of the national architectural and artistic relic of Muong Luan tower on the afternoon of January 7.

The archaeological excavation of the architectural and artistic relic of Muong Luan tower was conducted from December 2024. With a total area of ​​120m2, the excavation process has revealed almost the entire architectural plan of the ancient pagoda, with a total foundation length of more than 14.2m and a width of 7.4m.

Muong Luan tower archaeological excavation area. Photo: An Chi

The foundation of the building is made of bricks, reinforced with cobblestones and has load-bearing brick walls. In the back space there is a room with a Buddha statue and two pillars with mascots on either side; in front of the temple there are steps up and down.

The vestiges show that the temple used to have a fairly large area; the architectural style was rectangular. In particular, the foundation structure of the building was quite solid with the foot of the foundation being 40cm wider than the surface of the foundation; it was basically built from 10 - 12 rows of bricks stacked on top of each other.

In addition, the excavation team also discovered a number of relics, including brick building materials; some metal Buddha statues, metal coins; some household items...

Based on the type of bricks used to build the foundation and the remaining records, the excavation team initially determined that this construction was started around the 17th century. The temple was then restored and repaired at least once.

It is known that Muong Luan ancient tower is located in Muong Luan commune, Dien Bien Dong district, Dien Bien province.

This structure is built in the shape of a square tower, large at the bottom and gradually narrowing towards the top. The tower has a total height of 15m, divided into three main parts: the base, the body and the top. The tower is built with bricks, lime, mortar, sand and molasses.

The entire architecture of the tower as well as the most prominent decorative motifs of the tower are shown on the body of the tower. The most prominent is the stylized dragon image embossed to form a double figure 8 running around the tower, all 4 sides of the tower show 5 pairs of dragons.

Muong Luan ancient tower is an architectural work bearing the cultural and religious features of the Lao people in Dien Bien province. Photo: TL

All the motifs and decorative patterns on Muong Luan tower are made of red terracotta covered with moss of time, giving the tower a prominent ancient beauty.

According to the people of Muong Luan 1 village, in 1939, a very strong earthquake occurred in the Muong Luan area, causing the tower to tilt.

In 1991, Muong Luan tower was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism ).

T.Toan

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/phat-lo-mat-bang-ngoi-chua-co-sau-khai-quat-khao-co-thap-muong-luan-post329437.html