(HBO) – The Hoa Binh provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has coordinated with the Centre for Southeast Asian Prehistoric Studies to conduct a study of stone carvings on Co Spring in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district. The carvings are linked with the old belief of residents in local mountainous areas in the past, home to many relics of the Hoa Binh Civilisation over 20,000 years ago.
A big stone carving with concentric circles on Co
Spring in My Thanh commune, Lac Son district.
So far, only two rocks with carvings have been
discovered, about 25m apart. Both are granite, relatively big - about 5 cu.m.,
and half-submerged on the eastern bank of Co Spring.
The first rock (Block A) features a relatively
large carving that measures 25 x 35cm. The carving was formed from concave
lines about 1.5cm in width and 0.7cm in depth, clearly showing a paunchy person
with arms up. On the top of the two arms are two concentric circles with dots
at the centre and the outer circles about 6 - 7cm in diameter. Concentric
circles were a popular motif of patterns on bronze objects of the Dong Son
Civilisation.
Located about 20 - 25m from Block A, to the
spring’s upstream part, is a little bigger rock (Block B) that features four
clusters of relatively similar carvings on its flat top. The patterns cover an
area measuring 40 x 60cm. Each cluster includes two concentric circles about 7
- 8cm in diameter atop, and an almost square shape with two concave holes like
two nostrils below.
About 50m from those two objects is another rock
with part of it rising above the ground. The exposed part is 125cm long and
60cm wide and, especially, features nine concave holes which are about 6 - 9cm
in diameter, inspiring the imagination of a fish.
Dr Nguyen Viet, Director of the Centre for
Southeast Asian Prehistoric Studies, said only two rocks with five carving
clusters have been found at the site. Three of the clusters have clear lines
while two others do not. However, their styles are relatively consistent and
have the common theme of animal-like human faces. The concentric circles,
bearing the decoration style of the Dong Son Civilisation, demonstrate eyes,
noses, and mouths in a relatively similar way. The carving on Block A is
particularly important since it is bigger and faces outwards.
Notably, the stone carvings show the
skillfulness of shamans in the past, he noted, adding it is hopeful that more
relics of ancient rituals will be discovered in nearby areas./.
The People’s Committee of Lac Son district held a ceremony on April 28 to receive the provincial relic certificate for the ancient rock carving site at Suoi Co stream, located in My Thanh commune.
A special music show titled "The country is in the fullness of joy” has been held at Hoa Binh Square in Hoa Binh city in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975–2025).
The People's Committee of Lo Son commune, Tan Lac district, has organised the local annual traditional stream fishing festival on April 19 - 20.
As a land deeply intertwined with human history and Vietnam’s millennia-long journey of nation-building and defence, Hoa Binh is often revered for its epic tales and legends.
Residents of Hoa Binh boast a rich cultural identity, reflected in their unique language, traditional attire, customs, and folk melodies – described as "sweet as honey, clear as a mountain stream.”
Lac Son district’s Vu ban town held the 2025 Truong Kha temple festival on April 12–13 (the 15th–16th days of the third lunar month). Since its revival in 2019, the festival has been organised every three years, preserving valuable intangible heritage while meeting the community’s cultural and spiritual needs.
