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Ancient Hanoi City May Get Heritage Tag-UNESCO
Wed 11 August, 2004 08:31
HANOI (Reuters) - A sixth century royal city in Hanoi unearthed by accident in 2002 could be added to the United Nations heritage list, paving the way for international assistance and financing to preserve the historical site.
More than 2 million artifacts including terracotta dragons, phoenix statues and ceramic urns have been uncovered in the 57,408 square yards site layered with antiquities from the Le, Ly, Tran and Nguyen dynasties.
Workers clearing land near revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum for a new parliament building stumbled on the city remains. Excavations began in December 2002 and continue.
"We will be looking at the possibility that the site will be nominated to the World Heritage list," Richard Engelhardt, regional adviser for culture at the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told Reuters on Wednesday.
"I personally think it's a very good candidate," he added.
Engelhardt, based in Bangkok, was one of more than a dozen foreign experts gathered for the first time by Vietnam to propose options on preserving the Thang Long or "ascending dragon" imperial citadel, the country's biggest excavation on record.
A site that carries the coveted UNESCO seal of approval draws tourists and funding. Vietnam already has four UNESCO designated sites, including the 16th century central Vietnam trading town of Hoi An, but none in Hanoi.
The process of being added to UNESCO's list takes between 2 and 3 years, Engelhardt said.
The tightly guarded excavation site displays a number of large open pits, with some salvaged items stored in nearby sheds. The experts from Japan, Italy, France, South Korea and Spain were taken on a tour of the area on Tuesday.
"We may have sufficient archaeologists to excavate the site but we do not have enough money and experts on restoration and preservation, especially for outdoor sites," said Tran Quoc Vuong, who heads the National University of Hanoi's department for international cultural studies.
Vietnam's options would include preserving the site and building an open-air museum on location, or removing the artifacts for display elsewhere, several of the experts said.
Whatever it does, it is clear the communist country has made a unique discovery, they said.
"We dream about finding a site like this," said Christian Pedelahore De Loddis, a French specialist in Asian cities, as he surveyed the Ba Dinh archaeological site.
Wed 11 August, 2004 08:31
HANOI (Reuters) - A sixth century royal city in Hanoi unearthed by accident in 2002 could be added to the United Nations heritage list, paving the way for international assistance and financing to preserve the historical site.
More than 2 million artifacts including terracotta dragons, phoenix statues and ceramic urns have been uncovered in the 57,408 square yards site layered with antiquities from the Le, Ly, Tran and Nguyen dynasties.
Workers clearing land near revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum for a new parliament building stumbled on the city remains. Excavations began in December 2002 and continue.
"We will be looking at the possibility that the site will be nominated to the World Heritage list," Richard Engelhardt, regional adviser for culture at the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) told Reuters on Wednesday.
"I personally think it's a very good candidate," he added.
Engelhardt, based in Bangkok, was one of more than a dozen foreign experts gathered for the first time by Vietnam to propose options on preserving the Thang Long or "ascending dragon" imperial citadel, the country's biggest excavation on record.
A site that carries the coveted UNESCO seal of approval draws tourists and funding. Vietnam already has four UNESCO designated sites, including the 16th century central Vietnam trading town of Hoi An, but none in Hanoi.
The process of being added to UNESCO's list takes between 2 and 3 years, Engelhardt said.
The tightly guarded excavation site displays a number of large open pits, with some salvaged items stored in nearby sheds. The experts from Japan, Italy, France, South Korea and Spain were taken on a tour of the area on Tuesday.
"We may have sufficient archaeologists to excavate the site but we do not have enough money and experts on restoration and preservation, especially for outdoor sites," said Tran Quoc Vuong, who heads the National University of Hanoi's department for international cultural studies.
Vietnam's options would include preserving the site and building an open-air museum on location, or removing the artifacts for display elsewhere, several of the experts said.
Whatever it does, it is clear the communist country has made a unique discovery, they said.
"We dream about finding a site like this," said Christian Pedelahore De Loddis, a French specialist in Asian cities, as he surveyed the Ba Dinh archaeological site.
Wow this could be the 5th site of Vietnam in the UNESCO World Heritage site.
Here are some pics of the terracotta dragons and other 2 million artifacts found in Hanoi in December of 2002.
