Archaeologists have discovered 30 burial jars belonging to the 2,500-year-old Sa Huynh civilization in central Vietnam. The graves together with many artifacts were unearthed at the Con Dai archaeological site in Thua Thua-Hue province’s Huong Tra district.
     Of the jars, 25 contained ritual offerings like small trays, agate balls, and earrings, all of them still intact. They will be displayed at the Museum of Vietnamese History and the province’s museum. The archaeologists said the excavation provided further evidence that an early Metal Age culture had once existed in central Vietnam.
     The Sa Huynh culture has been dated to roughly the same time as the Dong Son culture (circa 1000 BCE-200 CE) but it had a distinctive decorative style of bronze axes, daggers, and ornaments. In a unique practice, it cremated its dead and buried their ashes in urns covered with lids together with ritually broken offerings.

Sources: Sai Gon, Giai Phong, Thanhnien News (29 September 2006)