Ancient copper furnaces recently unearthed at an archaeological site in Dong Anh, in the north of Ha Noi (Vietnam), have shed important light on the Metal Age, according to archaeologists. "This site was a bronze casting workshop, with dozens of furnaces, which we have found during seven excavations here since 1971," said Lai Van Toi, from the Viet Nam Archaeology Institute.
     Among artefacts found at the site are copper objects, cinders, broken pieces of pottery, pans and tripods - which were probably part of a traditional kitchen.
Most of the furnaces, which are believed to be about 4,000 years old, were aligned along a northwest to southeast axis and evenly spaced. They were also of similar design. Archaeologists believe the furnaces were aligned like this so that they would catch the wind.
     "In a 300sq.m area, we found many furnaces," said Prof Han Van Khan, from Ha Noi Social Sciences and Humanity University, who has also been excavating the site. "This is not an ordinary family kitchen but a workshop for smelting metal; copper may have been smelted here to make large objects," he said, adding that each of the two lines of furnaces may have been part of two separate workshops.
     Prof Khan, who worked on the site in 1988, said that the people of the Dong Son civilisation (2,000 BCE-200 CE) lived around two large hills that have since been eroded. Archaeologists said they had found an earthwork belonging to the Go Mun (2,500-2,000 BCE) and Dong Son civilisations.
     Experts believe the site was a defensive fortification of the Loa Thanh Citadel as six previous excavations had unearthed numerous tombs containing metal weapons. Skeletons buried with spears were thought to have been soldiers. Archaeologists also found children's skeletons, which suggested that civilians also lived in the area. "Dinh Trang is an important Metal Age archaeological site. It contains artefacts from the early Bronze Age to the early Iron Age," Khan said.

Source: VietNam News (22 May 2010)