Urgent excavation of brick tomb architecture in Dan Phuong district, Hanoi

On October 10, the Hanoi Museum announced that it had coordinated with the Institute of Archaeology and the People's Committee of Dan Phuong district to begin an urgent excavation of a brick structure, which according to initial assessment could be a brick tomb, in Hong Ha commune, Dan Phuong district, Hanoi.

The excavation area belongs to the project to expand and upgrade the road in Hong Ha commune (from 20m road to the border of Lien Hong commune). The excavation work aims to protect and promote the value of relics and artifacts.

The artifacts collected during the excavation will be preserved and maintained by the Hanoi Museum to promote their value.

After completing the emergency excavation, the Institute of Archaeology and Hanoi Museum will organize a preliminary report and propose a plan to manage and protect the excavated area and send a scientific report to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports and the Department of Cultural Heritage.

Previously, on May 12, at the construction site of the Road Expansion and Upgrade Project in Hong Ha Commune, a block of bricks suspected to be an ancient tomb was discovered.

Dan Phuong District People's Committee has directed the district's departments and offices to conduct a field inspection and discovered a brick structure about 800m from the starting point of the road under construction, under the rice field where the road runs through, in the East-West direction.

Immediately after the discovery, the People's Committee of Dan Phuong district assigned the district's Department of Culture and Information to report to the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports; at the same time, directed the People's Committee of Hong Ha commune and the implementing unit to temporarily stop and maintain the current status of the project, assigning people to watch over it 24/7 while waiting for emergency excavation.

Implementing the direction of the Hanoi People's Committee and the Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports, on June 15 at the Hong Ha Commune People's Committee, the Hanoi Museum coordinated with local specialized departments and the Institute of Archaeology to organize a meeting to assess the value and agree on an emergency excavation plan.

Based on the current status of the relics and artifacts, especially through the type of construction materials (rectangular bricks and grapefruit-shaped bricks), preliminary conclusions are that this is a brick tomb dating back to the 1st-4th century, a fairly common type of burial in Vietnam. In particular, in recent years in Hanoi, brick tombs have been discovered and studied in the Nam Thang Long Urban Area in the Ciputra Urban Area, Duc Tu Commune in Dong Anh District, Pham Van Dong Street in Bac Tu Liem District, etc.

At the meeting, delegates agreed to propose that the Hanoi People's Committee soon issue a decision to allow urgent archaeological excavations to protect and promote the value of relics and artifacts.

Dan Phuong District People's Committee also directed the district's specialized departments and offices to closely coordinate with Hanoi Museum and the Institute of Archaeology to soon develop an excavation plan.

On September 27, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Decision No. 4830/QD-UBND allowing the Institute of Archaeology to coordinate with the Hanoi Museum to urgently excavate the brick architecture discovered at the site.