On January 23, two artifacts just discovered at Duong Long tower (Binh An commune, Gia Lai) were brought to the Gia Lai Provincial Museum for preservation and display.
The two artifacts were discovered by a group of workers cleaning the ground to serve the restoration of Duong Long tower, located about 15m from the North tower, 2 days earlier.
The first artifact is a relief of a goddess in Hinduism, 1.06m high, 0.6m wide, carved with sa thach material, used to decorate the tower roof. The relief shows the image of a god in a standing position, holding lotus flowers in both hands; surrounded by Makara arch and surrounding fire patterns.
The remaining artifact is a lion relief made of sandstone, 0.42m high, 0.44m wide, used to decorate the corner of the tower. Both artifacts were discovered to be about 60cm deep underground, dating back to around the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
Mr. Bui Tinh - Director of Gia Lai Provincial Museum - said that the unit will report to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to advise the Provincial People's Committee to request an urgent excavation policy to further clarify the historical and cultural value of the Duong Long Tower architectural relic.
Duong Long Tower, also known as An Chanh Tower, Binh An Tower or Nga Tower, was built by the Champa people from the late 12th and early 13th centuries. The relic is located on a high hillside in Binh An commune (formerly belonging to Tay Son district, former Binh Dinh province).
In addition to its architectural value, the Duong Long tower complex also reflects the religious life and Champa sculpture art of the Vijaya period. Many precious artifacts have been discovered here such as the reliefs of the Brahma god, Indra god, Naga snake, Makara, Kala...
After more than 800 years with the impact of war, weather and humans, the Duong Long tower complex has been seriously damaged.
Previously, the cultural sector organized 3 excavations in 2006, 2007 and 2009 with a total area of more than 3,000m2, discovering many layers of stone mosaics, open-air temple architecture, Yoni statues and thousands of valuable artifacts. In particular, the Brahma divine relief discovered in 1985 was recognized as a national treasure in 2016.
In November 2025, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Gia Lai province continued to deploy archaeological excavation in the area around the tower with an area of more than 9,000m2, belonging to the project to restore and embellish the special national architectural and artistic relic Cham Duong Long tower, with a total cost of more than 90 billion VND.
