Tra Kieu is a famous place in Duy Xuyen district, Quang Nam province. This place was once the oldest capital of the Champa kingdom named Simhapura, which existed from the first centuries AD. Currently, the ancient citadel built of bricks still has a slight angle of the triangle, with a length of up to 1.5km from East to West and 0.5km from South to North. Currently, densely populated in the northern part of the city; The South still maintains rice fields. From the highest peak of Buu Chau mountain, located in the northern part of the old citadel, Tra Kieu church is now built and is hundreds of years old. Tea Kieu. The entire land inside the wall is the ruins of the citadel with large-scale brick constructions including palaces, and Champa temples. Therefore, Tra Kieu has been a focus of research in archaeology, architecture, art, religion and politics for many decades.
* Research on Tra Kieu before 1975:
Tra Kieu was first known to archaeologists in the 19th century through the announcements of Cammille Paris about architectural vestiges of the area. He noted the preserved monuments on Buu Chau hill and described stone statues near the foothills of Buu Chau (Paris 1891). In 1899, Louis Finot visited Tra Kieu and in 1909 brief descriptions of this relic appeared in Henri Parmentier's book on Annam (Henri Pamentier 1909). Louis Finot suggested that Tra Kieu was most likely the ancient citadel of Simhapura, as noted on a 9th and 12th century stele, discovered near My Son (Finot 1904).
The brick citadel of this capital is also mentioned in the ancient Chinese book Shui Jing mantra written about the capital Linyi - Linyi in the 6th century.
In the years 1927-1928, Jean - Yves Claeys, a French architect, excavated Tra Kieu relic with points A and B (200 meters east of Buu Chau hill). The architectural decorative statues found in this place have been reported in the Parisian literature earlier. Claeys found at point (A) a 14 x 13.5 meter brick tower with traces of a small temple at point (B). These are two important points in Claeys excavations with many decorative brick pedestals, tower architectural foundations and many stone sculptures - now mostly kept at the Museum of Cham Sculpture, Da Nang , others are small in size in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Paris. Claeys has established 12 focus points of Tra Kieu including A, B, C, D, E, F, J. P, Q, R, V, Y.
It is noteworthy that from point A straight to the south there is a point (R) with a wide brick pedestal decorated with an architectural corner remaining near a triangle, surrounded by a double wall with lots of broken bricks and tiles. Here among the many tiles are identified 6th century clown-faced tile heads when compared with Chinese clown-faced tiles. Claeys thinks that this may be a remnant of the old Simhapura palace.
Claeys left valuable drawings/photos of the Tra Kieu area and artistic drawings of architectural statues. In a publication of drawings and photographs, he emphasized the 6th century date for the citadel and the 7th century for two steles showing the date of the tower ruins he discovered at point A, Tra Kieu.
Later, many researchers discussed his given dates.
* Research Tra Kieu from 1990 to present:
In 1990, Nguyen Chieu - lecturer of Hanoi National University and other members conducted the first excavation of Vietnamese archeology at Tra Kieu. The excavation pit has an area of 3m x 4m, opened at the edge of the foothill north of Buu Chau. With a depth of cultural layer up to 2.7 m, the excavator has divided into two layers of culture sooner or later. The upper part, from a depth of 40cm down to 1.8m and 2.05m, is a complex of many bricks, tiles and ceramics dating from the 7th to 8th centuries. The lower layer from 2.05m to 2.70m deep is an earlier cultural layer, including early Cham pottery and pieces of late Sa Huynh culture, dating from the end of the 2nd century to the beginning of the century. 4th century.
Tra Kieu ceramics received special attention in this excavation. Excavators have separated early and late typical pottery from late Sa Huynh to early Champa, Han ceramics and Indian-looking Kendi and think that Sa Huynh culture was continued to the citadel. Champa culture, with the participation of very strong exchanges with India (Nguyen Chieu, Hoang Van Nham 1991: 237-239; Nguyen Chieu, Lam My Dung and Vu Thi Ninh 1991: 27-28).
In 1993, the excavation of the Vietnam Institute of Archeology under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and Humanities in cooperation with the Institute of Archeology of London, England through Professor Ian Glover was conducted at Tra Kieu to find out cultural succession sooner or later, from Sa Huynh to Champa in the first capital of the Champa kingdom. An excavation pit with an area of 8m x 4m was opened in the garden in front of Mr. Tri's house (Tra Chau village). This is the northeast part of Buu Chau hill, near the foot of the fence built of Tra Kieu church.
Literary flooroo is divided into several layers; From top to bottom there are six layers. In the upper layer, there are many porcelains from the Song Dynasty (China) dating from the end of the 10th century to the beginning of the 13th century. The middle layer encounters an original brick foundation at a depth of 1.3m with many broken bricks, tiles and ceramics. .. Under the brick floor, encountering many burning charcoal looks like a collection of broken bricks, tiles and ceramics as if they were burned. The depth of 2.7m is also to the biological layer with large rocks that seem to block rainwater from eroding the foothills from the past.
The excavations 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000 on Tra Kieu land were carried out many times by the research team, including Prof. Ian Glover, Dr. Yamagata Mariko, Dr. Ruth Prior, Dr. William Southworth, Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung, there are other researchers depending on the years of implementation.
The excavations 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 on Tra Kieu land were carried out many times by the research team, including Prof. Ian Glover, Dr. Yamagata Mariko, Dr. Ruth Prior, Dr. William Southworth, and Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung. , teachers Nguyen Chieu and Nguyen Thi Tuyet - officers of the Department of Culture and Information of Duy Xuyen district are continuous participants in excavations and research.
* Relics: Pottery. Research on Tra Kieu pottery was carried out many times, at the Department of Culture and Information of Duy Xuyen district and later at the Sa Huynh - Cham Pa Museum in Duy Xuyen.
Types of ceramic include wide-mouth low-pot, plate, round-bottomed bowl, cup with flat base, lids of special types are plate-shaped lid, Kendi, plate lamp and various kinds of fine or coarse ceramic mixed small cups sand; Cabbage with different types of vegetables in terms of form and decoration. The flat-bottomed vases with squares or squares are compared with the Han kilns in Tam Tho, Thanh Hoa. In particular, the earliest layer of stratigraphy exists egg-shaped vase pieces that are very common in the bottom stratigraphy of Tra Kieu, and at the same time of the Go Cam site excavated later. Researches by Ruth Prior show that the egg-shaped vase is produced from clay from the Thu Bon River. The systematic research on Tra Kieu pottery recently published by Yamagata Mariko (2014) shows that it is possible to segment into three pottery periods in the Tra Kieu stratigraphy, temporarily calling the earliest layer, the middle early layer and the upper layer. . Thereby, the change in types and materials of pottery can be seen quite clearly.
* Tra Kieu Tile: The basic feature of early yin and yang tiles is imprinted with fabric on the inside, and on the outside with brush strokes along the length of the tile. Later, the tile appears to have no traces of fabric inside and expands the size of the negative tile and creates a flatterness of the tile. Clown face tiles have also been found through excavations, at the 1993 excavation there were two original specimens and two fragments; The 1997-1999 excavation resulted in one more intact specimen and several more fragments. The tile surface in Tra Kieu was systematically studied by Yamagata Mariko and William Southworth.
* Excavation of Thanh Nam and Thanh Dong - Tra Kieu 1993, 2013:
Tra Kieu Citadel is located about 500-600 meters from the road to Nam Phuoc - My Son. Viewed from the aerial view, the city has a slightly rectangular surface, one side diagonally angled. At present, there are traces of the East and the South. Dimensions are as follows: North-South is 1.5 km long; East West 0.5km. The average height of the citadel is about 3m above the surrounding field, some outside sections have moats.
Nam Thanh (2003) was excavated by the Hanoi National University based on the exploration hole in 1990 near the southeast corner of the citadel. T-shaped hole dug to a depth of 3.64m. According to the preliminary report of the leader of the excavation, Nguyen Chieu (Hanoi National University) was built with two-sided bricks and the embankment in the middle is 6m wide. There are boulders reinforcing the base of the foundation where the tiles are laid. Artifacts in addition to tiles, rough pottery also have a clown face tile. Based on the excavation results of Nguyen Chieu, researchers later said that Tra Kieu citadel dates back to about the 4th century, then there is evidence of repair and reinforcement several times in different periods. later (Lam Thi My Dung, 2008: 169 - 197).
Thanh Dong (2013) was excavated by the Center for Archeology, the Institute of Social Sciences of the Southern Region, Kanazawa University (Japan) and the Quang Nam Provincial Museum in February 2013 and August 2013.
80m2 of the excavation pit planned at the eastern end of Tra Kieu citadel (15 49'19.6” N and 108 14'24.1” E), bordering the ancient river, the natural waterway of the citadel has been drawn quite clearly on it. drawings by Klaeys of 1927-1928.
Excavation results show that the citadel has a construction structure including the core of the wall (thickened by many layers of pure clay dams), and the two sides are brick walls; each wall is about 1.5m wide, and 2.5m apart, running parallel to the north-south direction - 8o west. Cross section of the brick wall is isosceles trapezoid; vertical axis with lightning strike in the center of the wall. The structure is built into a solid block, tightly bound with compacted clay, so it feels very solid on both sides.
Studying the cross section of the wall, it can be seen that Tra Kieu citadel has many stages of construction or repair. In the lower part, although the foundation is not visible, the bricks are built quite evenly and neatly, the size of the bricks is large, the upper part is 40cm thick, with three layouts.oo is divided into several layers; From top to bottom there are six layers. In the upper layer, there are many porcelains from the Song Dynasty (China) dating from the end of the 10th century to the beginning of the 13th century. The middle layer encounters an original brick foundation at a depth of 1.3m with many broken bricks, tiles and ceramics. .. Under the brick floor, encountering many burning charcoal looks like a collection of broken bricks, tiles and ceramics as if they were burned. The depth of 2.7m is also to the biological layer with large rocks that seem to block rainwater from eroding the foothills from the past.
The excavations 1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000 on Tra Kieu land were carried out many times by the research team, including Prof. Ian Glover, Dr. Yamagata Mariko, Dr. Ruth Prior, Dr. William Southworth, Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung, there are other researchers depending on the years of implementation.
The excavations 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 on Tra Kieu land were carried out many times by the research team, including Prof. Ian Glover, Dr. Yamagata Mariko, Dr. Ruth Prior, Dr. William Southworth, and Dr. Nguyen Kim Dung. , teachers Nguyen Chieu and Nguyen Thi Tuyet - officers of the Department of Culture and Information of Duy Xuyen district are continuous participants in excavations and research.
* Relics: Pottery. Research on Tra Kieu pottery was carried out many times, at the Department of Culture and Information of Duy Xuyen district and later at the Sa Huynh - Cham Pa Museum in Duy Xuyen.
Types of ceramic include wide-mouth low-pot, plate, round-bottomed bowl, cup with flat base, lids of special types are plate-shaped lid, Kendi, plate lamp and various kinds of fine or coarse ceramic mixed small cups sand; Cabbage with different types of vegetables in terms of form and decoration. The flat-bottomed vases with squares or squares are compared with the Han kilns in Tam Tho, Thanh Hoa. In particular, the earliest layer of stratigraphy exists egg-shaped vase pieces that are very common in the bottom stratigraphy of Tra Kieu, and at the same time of the Go Cam site excavated later. Researches by Ruth Prior show that the egg-shaped vase is produced from clay from the Thu Bon River. The systematic research on Tra Kieu pottery recently published by Yamagata Mariko (2014) shows that it is possible to segment into three pottery periods in the Tra Kieu stratigraphy, temporarily calling the earliest layer, the middle early layer and the upper layer. . Thereby, the change in types and materials of pottery can be seen quite clearly.
* Tra Kieu Tile: The basic feature of early yin and yang tiles is imprinted with fabric on the inside, and on the outside with brush strokes along the length of the tile. Later, the tile appears to have no traces of fabric inside and expands the size of the negative tile and creates a flatterness of the tile. Clown face tiles have also been found through excavations, at the 1993 excavation there were two original specimens and two fragments; The 1997-1999 excavation resulted in one more intact specimen and several more fragments. The tile surface in Tra Kieu was systematically studied by Yamagata Mariko and William Southworth.
* Excavation of Thanh Nam and Thanh Dong - Tra Kieu 1993, 2013:
Tra Kieu Citadel is located about 500-600 meters from the road to Nam Phuoc - My Son. Viewed from the aerial view, the city has a slightly rectangular surface, one side diagonally angled. At present, there are traces of the East and the South. Dimensions are as follows: North-South is 1.5 km long; East West 0.5km. The average height of the citadel is about 3m above the surrounding field, some outside sections have moats.
Nam Thanh (2003) was excavated by the Hanoi National University based on the exploration hole in 1990 near the southeast corner of the citadel. T-shaped hole dug to a depth of 3.64m. According to the preliminary report of the leader of the excavation, Nguyen Chieu (Hanoi National University) was built with two-sided bricks and the embankment in the middle is 6m wide. There are boulders reinforcing the base of the foundation where the tiles are laid. Artifacts in addition to tiles, rough pottery also have a clown face tile. Based on the excavation results of Nguyen Chieu, researchers later said that Tra Kieu citadel dates back to about the 4th century, then there is evidence of repair and reinforcement several times in different periods. later (Lam Thi My Dung, 2008: 169 - 197).
Thanh Dong (2013) was excavated by the Center for Archeology, the Institute of Social Sciences of the Southern Region, Kanazawa University (Japan) and the Quang Nam Provincial Museum in February 2013 and August 2013.
80m2 of the excavation pit planned at the eastern end of Tra Kieu citadel (15 49'19.6” N and 108 14'24.1” E), bordering the ancient river, the natural waterway of the citadel has been drawn quite clearly on it. drawings by Klaeys of 1927-1928.
Excavation results show that the citadel has a construction structure including the core of the wall (thickened by many layers of pure clay dams), and the two sides are brick walls; each wall is about 1.5m wide, and 2.5m apart, running parallel to the north-south direction - 8o west. Cross section of the brick wall is isosceles trapezoid; vertical axis with lightning strike in the center of the wall. The structure is built into a solid block, tightly bound with compacted clay, so it feels very solid on both sides.
Studying the cross section of the wall, it can be seen that Tra Kieu citadel has many stages of construction or repair. In the lower part, although the foundation is not visible, the bricks are built quite evenly and neatly, the size of the bricks is large, the upper part is 40cm thick, with three layouts.
