Cham Towers Excavated in Vietnam

DA NANG CITY, VIETNAM—Vietnam Net reports that archaeologists are in the process of uncovering a complex of at least five Cham buildings in Phong Le Village, which is located in central Vietnam. Archaeologist Dang Hong Son said the structures include a main tower, a gate tower, a long house, and boundary walls that were dated to the tenth and eleventh centuries A.D. The site was situated along a river that no longer exists, and is thought to have been a trading port. A tube-shaped roof tile was decorated with a human face and Han script on its forehead. Stone statues of a lion, snakes, an elephant, and a legendary bird called a Garuda were also recovered, along with ceramics imported from China. The research team will continue to look for port structures. To read about archaeological investigation elsewhere in Southeast Asia, go to “Angkor Urban Sprawl.”