Face-shaped bricks discovered underground nearly 1,000 years old

(Dan Tri) - Through excavation of the Phu An tower ruins (Gia Lai), Vietnamese archaeologists initially discovered 17,650 artifacts, notably a human-faced brick that has been underground for nearly 1,000 years.

Gia Lai Provincial Museum, in coordination with professional agencies and archaeological experts from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University, Hanoi), announced the results of the archaeological excavation of the Phu An tower ruins (Phu Hung village, Binh Hiep commune).

Experts consider this to be one of the important ancient Champa architectural vestiges, located in the Champa temple tower system in the old Binh Dinh land, now Gia Lai province.

A brick carved with a human face was discovered during an archaeological excavation at the Phu An tower ruins (Photo: Gia Lai Museum).

Initial excavation results in 3 pits and expanding the 300m2 research area in the Phu An tower ruins have revealed 6 main relics such as the tower's brick foundation, brick walls, and the longhouse's architectural foundation and base.

The archaeological excavation also discovered 17,650 artifacts such as terracotta, bricks, thatched roof tiles, cow horn tiles, household ceramics (clay pottery, porcelain, ceramics), Song Dynasty coins, etc. The most typical is a brick carved into the shape of part of a human face, showing special artistic and symbolic value.

According to experts, the Phu An tower ruins have gone through many periods, in which human farming, agricultural production, and brick mining activities have also caused severe damage to the structure.

Archaeologists say Phu An tower is an ancient Champa religious architectural complex in the Central region (Photo: Gia Lai Museum).

Experts assessed that the scope of the first phase of archaeological excavation was limited to only 300 square meters, so the information and value of the relics have not been clarified. However, the initial results revealed a lot of information showing that Phu An used to be a large-scale Champa tower complex, built in the 10th-12th centuries, bearing the mark of the intersection of many cultures.

According to Dr. Nguyen Huu Manh, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, excavation results show that the Phu An tower ruins were once an important religious architectural complex of the ancient Champa kingdom.

Dr. Nguyen Huu Manh stated that the Phu An tower ruins were used around the 11th-12th century, this was the period when Champa developed strongly in the Central region.

At the announcement ceremony, Dr. Nguyen Huu Manh also recommended that the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province should demarcate the excavation area, continue research, and open archaeological excavations to clarify the value of the relic.

Phu An Tower needs to be added to the inventory list and ranked as a provincial-level relic, as a basis for planning the overall conservation of the Champa tower system in the area; integrating and digitizing related data to serve archiving, research and tourism activities, educating the public, youth, etc.

Many valuable artifacts confirm that Phu An tower is a religious architectural work of the ancient Champa people (Photo: Gia Lai Museum).

Mr. Huynh Van Loi, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province, requested the provincial museum to isolate and protect the scene, especially during the rainy season, to ensure drainage to avoid causing insecurity.

In addition, he requested that Gia Lai Provincial Museum coordinate to develop an archaeological planning map of all Cham tower relics, and possibly propose to implement Resolution 57 of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science and technology development, innovation and national digital transformation; or separate it to submit to the Provincial People's Committee to request funding for implementation.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/phat-hien-gach-hinh-mat-nguoi-trong-long-dat-gan-1000-nam-20250928084752975.htm