The remains of a 1,200 year-old Cham sanctuary unearthed in Phu Vang district in Hue will be made secure at a cost of VND560 million (US$32,000 ), and conservation work is scheduled for completion next year.

It will have a security post, equipment to safeguard the structure and a stone pillar providing information about it. Its foundation will be strengthened, and two guards will be posted permanently to protect it from vandalism, according to Cao Huy Hung, director of the province’s History and Revolution Museum and the project coordinator.

The tower was found five years ago when titanium miners dug 8m into the ground. Subsequent excavations by archaeologists revealed the foundation of another structure nearby as well as finding many religious artifacts belonging to the ancient Cham people.

The tower has been dated between the eight and ninth centuries, making it one of the earliest Cham relics discovered so far. It dates back to the same period as the My Son Tower in Quang Nam province further south, which has been recognized as a world heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

VNA