Prehistoric relics discovered in Bac Kan cave
NDO/VNA - Over 700 prehistoric artefacts have been discovered inside Tham Un cave in the northern
NGHỆ AN Several prehistoric drawings that could date back 3,000 years ago have been found in a cave located in Quỳ Chau District in the central province of Nghe An.
The drawings were discovered on the wall of Thẩm Chang Cave by a survey team of the Viet Nam Institute of Archaeology during an archaeological verification trip.
The cave was discovered by the institute in 2015, said Prof Trình Năng Chung, PhD, head of the survey team, adding that based on stone tools found inside, the cave is believed to have formed during the Iron Age.
“The study of the drawings shows that the prehistoric people who lived in the cave used white pigment that was created from chalk pounded into powder and mixed with vegetable resin or animal fat to draw," he said.
Six drawings depict geometric patterns – concentric circles and spirals – that usually appeared on the ceramics of the time, revealing that the ancient people took shelter in Thẩm Chang Cave about 3,000 years ago.
This is not the first time that ancient art has been discovered in caves in Nghe An.
In the 1940s, French archaeologists found drawings in a cave in Chau Phong Commune, about 15km south of Quỳ Chau Town. In addition, human-figured rock carvings were recently detected in a cave in Anh Sơn District’s Hoa Sơn Commune.
The discoveries in caves in Nghe An, along with art artefacts found in the provinces of Hòa Bình, Ha Giang and Quảng Bình, indicate cave art was practised by people in Viet Nam in prehistoric times.
Also during the trip, archaeologists discovered a new relic site of Hòa Bình Culture dating nearly 10,000 years ago from the Stone Age, which is Thẳm Moi Cave in Quỳ Chau District. Stone working tools found in the cave show fundamental traits of the art of Hòa Bình Culture.
Thẩm Chang Cave is wide open inward with a tubular structure and few small niches. The total area of the cave is about 800sq.m. The ancient drawings, all of which are geometric patterns, were discovered on the cave walls near its entrance.
Local authorities have devised plans to conserve the relics. VNS
