Oc Eo relic is a famous landmark of the Southwest region in general and An Giang province in particular. It is widely known at home and abroad because it is a large, ancient relic site. About 2 thousand years ago, this place was the capital of the Funan kingdom, a powerful capital in Southeast Asia.
Interesting things about Oc Eo relic area
Oc Eo is the name of a mound of dirt and rocks emerging on a field south of Ba The mountain. In 1944, from historical information and ancient bibliographies, Mr. Louis Malleret, an archaeologist at that time working as librarian of the Saigon Museum, went to the Oc Eo area now in Vong The Commune (Thoi Son District) to excavated traces of a port that has now collapsed underground and discovered traces of archaeological sites of Oc Eo culture.
This is a vestige of a large and brilliant civilization that was once present from the 1st to the 8th century and has been discovered in many places, of which An Giang province is considered an important area. The place with the highest concentration of various types of monuments and relics. Go Oc Eo in Ba The (Thoai Son district) was the first place to find important relics of that ancient civilization and Oc Eo has become the common name for all relics discovered in other localities.
Oc Eo relic area includes 3 main items: Within the scope of Go Cay Thi, Go Ut Tranh and Linh Son Nam relics.
Among them, the Go Ut Tranh relic was dated from the 7th century, with an excavation and roof construction area of 1,122 m2 located on the eastern slope of Ba The mountain, belonging to a special national monument complex.
Excavation results have shown that the overall map of the monument includes 3 architectures belonging to 3 temples located on a North – South road. These temples worship the three supreme gods in Hinduism: God Vishnu (god of preservation), God Shiva (god of destruction and rebirth) and Brahma (god of creation). In the center of the southern temple dedicated to worshiping the god Vishnu is the structure of an altar pit, consisting of a square brick structure with an area of 2.85 x 2.85m. The center of the altar is a brick structure commonly known as the Seima Pillar.
The monument was built with mixed brick and stone materials. This is one of the most intact architectural relics of the Oc Eo – Ba The relic complex and is a rare temple area built to worship all three supreme gods in the same space.
In addition, archaeologists have found many types of important relics such as temples, towers, lakes or wells made of bricks and stones; countless relics recreating daily life and handicraft productions, artifacts such as ceramics, gold artifacts, glass jewelry, gemstones, large and small statues, rings, earrings, gemstone beads, agate, glass beads, seals, amulets, and wooden tools bronze and stone; terracotta artifacts such as stoves, lamp plates, basins, pots, jars…. clearly and more convincingly demonstrate the extremely developed of Oc Eo ancient.
sample of coin money
gold artifacts
gold artifacts
Currently, Oc Eo relic site is visited by many collectors and archaeologists to learn about the historical values still preserved here. In addition to the area considered Oc Eo Relic with an area of 4,500 hectares, there are also a few regions in the Southwest region such as: Dong Thap Muoi, Chau Doc, Kien Giang… which to this day still remains many mysteries for researchers and archaeologists.
General information about Oc Eo relic area:
- Best for: solo, family, student, researcher…
- Other tourist spots nearby: Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb, Hang Pagoda, Chau Doc floating village, Sam Mountain Tourist Area, The Lady Temple, Tra Su Cajuput Forest, Cham Village…
Source: collected by An
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