The thousand-year-old Cham tower was recently restored, but the bricks were crumbling.

(Dan Tri) - More than 2 years since the project was completed, many walls restored with restored bricks at the northern tower, belonging to the Khuong My Cham tower relic, Tam Xuan commune, Da Nang, have appeared to be in a state of crumbling bricks.

After more than 2 years since the completion and handover of the conservation, restoration and rehabilitation project, many walls at the Khuong My Cham tower cluster ( Da Nang ) have appeared to be in a state of crumbling bricks, causing concerns about the quality of the project and the value of the heritage.

The project to renovate the northern tower and the middle tower of the Khuong My Cham tower cluster, with a total cost of 12.6 billion VND from the budget of the old Quang Nam province, was implemented from October 2019 and completed in December 2022.

Khuong My Cham tower cluster consists of 3 structures located next to each other along the North - South axis (Photo: Cong Binh).

The Institute of Science and Technology ( Ministry of Construction ) is the construction unit, under the management of the former Quang Nam Province Construction Investment Project Management Board.

During the restoration process, items such as reinforcing the main entrance to the two towers and repairing peeling, eroded, and damaged walls were carried out to serve tourists and research experts.

However, after just over 2 years of handover, many newly restored bricks at the north tower have appeared to be in a serious state of decay. According to the reporter's records in mid-September, when touching these bricks with hands, brick powder and tiny, unbound dust particles easily fell to the ground.

Explaining this phenomenon, Mr. Nguyen Tien Binh, representative of the Institute of Construction Science and Technology, said that this is an objective phenomenon that often occurs in Cham towers along the coastal areas of the Central region.

Mr. Binh emphasized that the crumbling brick areas are mainly located at the base of the tower (about 3m or less) or in places with erratic humidity changes, especially towers near the sea or humid areas, regularly affected by sunlight, wind and the marine environment.

The restored bricks on the tower are crumbling (Photo: Cong Binh).

The main cause was determined to be a combination of temperature, humidity and the presence of Cl- and SO4-2 ions, which causes a salt reaction. Analysis results showed that the surface of the ancient bricks had accumulated a huge amount of salt over thousands of years, due to the location near the sea and the decomposing animal carcasses on top of the tower.

Under the influence of weather, groundwater evaporates and rainwater seeps down, salt is pushed to the surface, causing salinization and quickly causing restored bricks to crumble.

Faced with this situation, on September 19, Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City, inspected and listened to a report on the phenomenon of salt floating and crumbling brick surfaces at Khuong My Cham Tower.

Ms. Thi emphasized that Khuong My tower is a relic with long-standing cultural and historical values, of national and international heritage stature, so preserving, conserving and promoting the heritage value is extremely necessary.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Anh Thi, Vice Chairwoman of Da Nang City People's Committee, inspected Khuong My tower (Photo: Da Nang Electronic Information Portal).

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City requested relevant units to coordinate and discuss with experts who are implementing the restoration project of My Son temple relic site to propose effective and long-term solutions to overcome this phenomenon at Khuong My Cham tower.

Khuong My Cham tower relic, located in Tam Xuan 1 commune, Nui Thanh district, old Quang Nam province (now Tam Xuan commune, Da Nang city), was built in the late 9th century and early 10th century.

The tower cluster consists of three towers: the north tower, the middle tower and the south tower, recognized as a National Monument in 1989.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/thap-cham-nghin-tuoi-moi-trung-tu-gach-da-mun-nat-20250922110351504.htm