On the afternoon of August 24, 2018, at the Hai Van Quan Relic on Hai Van Pass, VNMH held a conference to report preliminary results of archeological excavations of Hai Van Quan Relic.
Attending this conference were leaders of Thua Thien Hue Provincial People's Committee, People's Committee of Da Nang City, VNMH’s leaders, Hue Monuments Conservation Center, Department of Culture and Sports of Da Nang City, representatives of local authorities, historians, archaeologists, design consultants on restoration, embellishment of relics and reporters of central and local newspapers, television, etc.
After visiting, studying at the excavation site, the conference’s delegation reported the excavation’s preliminary results by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Chat - in charge of this excavation. Accordingly, with nearly 900 m2 of excavation area at 2 gates, 4 sides of citadel, and the inside of the relics, the vestiges of architectural foundation of Hai Van Quan were completely discovered. It was built in the Seventh Minh - Menh Year (1826), including: step, entrance to Thien Ha De Nhat Quan Quan, and Hai Van Quan. They defined the position, size and structure of the auxiliary gates into the living zone of the soldiers; citadel system; Than Cong gun emplacement and traces of the foundation of Tru So house (the residence and working place of Tran Thu mandarin) and Vu Kho (warehouse of saltpeter and gunpowder). Particularly, during the study and investigation, the vestiges of the Thiên ly road from the Hue imperial capital to the gate of Thien Ha De Nhat Hung Quan and from Hai Van Quan Gate to Da Nang city were discovered. In addition, excavation also discovered many architectural traces which have been renovated, such as: citadel walls; secret tunnels; the system of fortifications; blockhouse; houses; auxiliary buildings, etc. of the French and US military from 1946 to 1975.
Delegates visiting archaeological excavation site
Delegates listening to the excavation report and giving their comments at the conference
Giving a speech at the meeting, Mr. Nguyen Dung, Vice Chairman of Thua Thien Hue People's Committee thanked and highly appreciated the results of VNMH’s research and excavation. Based on this study, the leaders of Thua Thien Hue and Da Nang will assign professional agencies to plan a project on restoring Hai Van Quan relic to preserve and promote the value of this relic.
Mr. Nguyen Dung - Vice Chairman of Thua Thien Hue People's Committee visiting the excavation site
At the conference, Mr. Phan Thanh Hai, Director of Hue Monuments Conservation Center and Mr. Huynh Van Hung, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Da Nang thought that results of VNMH’s archaeological research clearly defined the size, structure, location, size, and nature of each architectural construction of this relic; clarified the time of construction, repair, and renovation of the relics in each period; provided newer, more precise, and more complete scientific data of Hai Van Quan. This is very important and necessary scientific data for the two agencies to plan the project on design restoration, embellishment, and promotion of the value of Hai Van Quan relics in the coming time.
Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong, VNMH’s Director giving speech at the conference
On behalf of VNMH which is responsible for excavation, Dr. Nguyen Van Cuong – VNMH’s Director gratefully thanked for the help and coordination of the Hue Monuments Conservation Center and the Department of Culture and Sports of Da Nang City. In the future, the Museum will continue to study and rectify the objects and complete the scientific report of the excavation at Hai Van Quan.
The excavation team at Hai Van Quan