Close-up of 4 ancient Cham towers waiting for "healing" in Gia Lai

The former Binh Dinh strip of land (now part of Gia Lai province) was considered the "capital" of Cham towers, with towers standing for thousands of years, deeply ingrained in the memories of residents and history and becoming precious cultural symbols of the "Land of Martial Arts".

Close-up video of 4 ancient towers waiting for "healing"

The four towers in the two Cham tower clusters Duong Long and Thu Thien are special architectural works of art, about 900 - 1,000 years old.

Over the years, weather, war and human impact have caused the four towers to deteriorate and be seriously damaged, needing to be "healed" soon.

Three towers at the Duong Long Tower National Special Architectural and Artistic Relic are about to be restored and embellished.

As for Thu Thien tower, due to the risk of collapse, the locality has been seeking funding sources for renovation and prevention of deterioration in recent years. Due to limited funding, the renovation and restoration of this ancient tower still has to wait...

Over the years of erosion, Thu Thien tower has seriously degraded and is reinforced with iron frames to await funding for repair and restoration.

For the special national architectural and artistic relic Duong Long tower, Gia Lai province has mobilized budget sources to launch a restoration and embellishment project combined with archaeological excavation, with a budget of over 93 billion VND.

Duong Long tower cluster (about 900 years old) stands tall, containing many architectural, artistic and cultural values ​​of Cham.

Duong Long Tower consists of 3 main towers: Middle Tower, South Tower and North Tower built on an area of ^​​370m2 . The project was built from the end of the 12th century, the beginning of the 13th century on a high hilltop in Binh An commune, Gia Lai province.

The Middle Tower is the central structure, 39m high - this is the tallest brick tower in Southeast Asia (according to the Vietnam Heritage Department). The South Tower is 33m high, with a square base, each side is 14m long, the tower walls are built in steps, the walls are smooth, the roof has 4 floors. The North Tower is 32m high, similar to the South Tower, decorated with many sandstone motifs with lion - elephant images, people sitting cross-legged, people dancing...

Duong Long Tower is a typical architectural work of art in Vietnam, demonstrating the architectural techniques and masterful sculpture of the ancient Cham people. In many previous archaeological excavations in the Duong Long Tower complex, many valuable artifacts and antiquities were discovered such as: reliefs of Brahma, god Indra, snakes Naga, Makara, Kala...

Currently, many locations of the towers are seriously degraded.

According to experts, the level of degradation and damage at Duong Long tower is from 30-40%.

Some sandstone structures are showing signs of disconnection and are at risk of collapsing.

The North Tower is badly damaged, the front door body is weathered, broken bricks are deformed, and there are parasitic plants.

The South side of the North Tower is decorated with sandstone, with unique artistic expressions.

Sandstone relief mounted on the North Tower

Recently, Gia Lai province launched the project to restore and embellish Duong Long tower, with a total cost of more than 93.3 billion VND. The project will restore and embellish the two blocks of the South Tower and the Middle Tower at a height of 12m or less. In particular, the original stone components will be repositioned in some locations of the South Tower and the Middle Tower...

The steel pipe tower connected to the South Tower is about to be "healed"

In addition, Gia Lai province added an archaeological excavation component in the Duong Long tower complex, with an area of ^{​​9,000m2} and a cost of more than 16 billion VND.

Many areas of the North Tower are degraded and severely damaged. In particular, the front door is deformed and needs to be restored soon to preserve the value of the relic and ensure the safety of visitors.

Gia Lai province invited experts from the Institute of Archaeology and the Southern Institute of Social Sciences to survey and prepare to open an archaeological excavation at Duong Long tower.

The national architectural and artistic relic Thu Thien is also hidden among the deserted fields of the people of Thu Thien village, now in Tay Son commune (Gia Lai province).

Since the mid-1990s, the cultural sector of Binh Dinh province has started taking steps to reinforce and prevent the collapse of Thu Thien tower. In 2019, the province made a plan to continue to prevent degradation and restore and embellish with a budget of 1.8 billion VND. In the period of 2023-2024, the province continues to implement the project to restore and embellish Thu Thien tower with a budget of about 6 billion VND.

Due to limited funding, the restoration and renovation of Thu Thien tower is still unfinished.

Inside the damaged and degraded Thu Thien tower

The QR code sign is damaged, the digital data link of the ancient tower is also "broken"

On the northwest tower body - Thu Thien tower, a crack appeared extending from the base of the tower up.

Thu Thien Tower is being reinforced with a steel scaffolding system to await funding for restoration.

The roof of Thu Thien tower has been renovated and restored in many places.

NGOC OAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/can-canh-4-toa-thap-cham-co-dang-cho-chua-thuong-o-gia-lai-post812464.html