(HBO) – The Hoa Binh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistoric Studies to conduct a study of stone carvings on Co Spring in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district. The carvings are linked with the old belief of residents in local mountainous areas in the past, home to many relics of the Hoa Binh Civilisation over 20,000 years ago.


A big stone carving with concentric circles on Co Spring in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district.

So far, only two rocks with carvings have been discovered, about 25m apart. Both are granite, relatively big - about 5 cu.m., and half-submerged on the eastern bank of Co Spring.

The first rock (Block A) features a relatively large carving that measures 25 x 35cm. The carving was formed from concave lines about 1.5cm in width and 0.7cm in depth, clearly showing a paunchy person with arms up. On the top of the two arms are two concentric circles with dots at the centre and the outer circles about 6 - 7cm in diameter. Concentric circles were a popular motif of patterns on bronze objects of the Dong Son Civilisation.

Located about 20 - 25m from Block A, to the spring’s upstream part, is a little bigger rock (Block B) that features four clusters of relatively similar carvings on its flat top. The patterns cover an area measuring 40 x 60cm. Each cluster includes two concentric circles about 7 - 8cm in diameter atop, and an almost square shape with two concave holes like two nostrils below.

About 50m from those two objects is another rock with part of it rising above the ground. The exposed part is 125cm long and 60cm wide and, especially, features nine concave holes which are about 6 - 9cm in diameter, inspiring the imagination of a fish.

Dr Nguyen Viet, Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistoric Studies, said only two rocks with five carving clusters have been found at the site. Three of the clusters have clear lines while two others do not. However, their styles are relatively consistent and have the common theme of animal-like human faces. The concentric circles, bearing the decoration style of the Dong Son Civilisation, demonstrate eyes, noses, and mouths in a relatively similar way. The carving on Block A is particularly important since it is bigger and faces outwards.

Notably, the stone carvings show the skillfulness of shamans in the past, he noted, adding it is hopeful that more relics of ancient rituals will be discovered in nearby areas./.

 


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