Quang Ngai (VNS/VNA) - Archaeologists fromQuang Ngai Museum and the Archaeology Institute have found six ancient tombsand jewellery dating back about 2,000 years.

The excavation at the Chinh stream on Ly Son Island, 30km offmainland Quang Ngai province, uncovered tombs believed to belong to Sa Huynhculture communities between the first and second century AD.

Doan Ngoc Khoi, Deputy Director of the Quang Ngai provincialMuseum, said the excavation last month was seen as preparation for a largerexcavation in 2019, and the digging covered only 10sq.m.

He said these tombs contained remains of children, glassbeads, earrings and necklaces made from seashells.

 “It’s more evidence that the community of Sa HuynhCulture (2,500 to 3,000 years ago) had lived and existed on the islands a longtime ago. They built up a community to inherit culture of Sa Huynh from themainland,” Khoi said.

He said the first excavation from 2000-05unearthed axes, chisels, knives and hoes made from stone, bronze and iron.

“We just dug up two holes on the expanded excavation area toensure it retains antiquities for mass digging next year,” he explained.

The archaeological researcher said the digging willcontribute more documents and objects to the process of recognising Ly Son as aGlobal Geo-Park in the coming years.

“We could strongly confirm that the Sa Huynh culture a long timeago appeared on the island and our ancestors had moved to far islands thousandsyears ago,” he said, adding the excavation on Ly Son Island once again provedVietnam’s sovereignty over the islands and archipelagos.

According to the Quang Ngai Museum, living quarters in OcVillage and Chinh stream in An Hai commune of the island are two sites withabundant relics and antiquities left from Sa Huynh Culture.

Chinh stream, situated at the foot of Thoi Loi Mountain, wasa main freshwater source for Sa Huynh people.

Earlier this year, experts from the Vietnam Institute ofGeosciences and Mineral Resources also found a unique complex of fossilisedcoral believed to date from 4,000 to 6,000 years ago on Ly Son Island.

Ly Son Island is a dormant volcano, and the terrain of theisland was created from eruptions 25 to 30 million years ago, leavinglandscapes with rocks, caves, cliffs and a lake.

The island has abundant relics related to the Sa Huynh,Champa and Dai Viet (or Great Viet) cultures that existed on the island forthousands of years.

Experts from the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and MineralResources and archaeologists from the National Heritage Council and ArchaeologyInstitute have been compiling documents to UNESCO for Geo-Park statusrecognisation of Ly Son Island and a large area above and under the sea andland from Ly Son Island to the districts of Binh Son, Tu Nghia, Nghia Hanh, MoDuc, Ba To, Son Ha, Tay Tra, and Sa Huynh.

Setsuya Nakada, who is chair of the AdvisoryCommittee of the Global Geo-Park Network, said the central province is anabundant site of heritage values with a mixture of culture and geologydiversity, and it could be promoted as a geo-park site.

The island is a tranquil destination with 21,000 inhabitants,most of whom make their living from farming garlic and spring onions andfishing.

Centuries-old houses on the island have been preserved, ashas the Am Linh Pagoda, built to worship the souls of sailors who died duringlong voyages to the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) islands in theNguyen dynasty (around the 17th century).

A local museum displays more than 200 ancient documents and100 exhibits that prove that the Paracel and Spratly belong to Vietnam.-VNS/VNA