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Location: Sapa Ancient Rock Field is
in Muong Hoa Valley, Hau Thao
Commune, Sapa District, Lao Cai
Province.
Characteristic: This 8sq.km-area of
remains consists of large
multi-grade rocks engraved with
ancient images.
Sapa
Ancient Rock Field is between the
terraced rice paddies of ethnic
minority groups. The first
exploration research, in 1925,
recorded that there were 200 stones
of various dimensions concentrated
in the area. Hon Bo, which is 15m
long and 6m high, is the biggest of
theses rocks.
The engravings on the surfaces of
the stone are either pictographic or
decorative. Remarkably, among the
engravings are drawings of humans,
stilt-houses of the ethnic
minorities and symbols believed to
be a primitive form of writing. But
their meaning has not yet been
deciphered.
In addition, impressive images
include a da chong (the husband
stone), da vo (the wife stone), as
well as stones that look like tigers
and a stela with an incantation
written on it by the carver to help
his people defeat the tigers. The da
chong and da vo tell the story of
faithful love between a couple who
overcame all difficulties to be
together; even though they turned to
stone, they are still dedicated to
each other.
Archaeologists have proven that this
area has been inhabited since
ancient times. These fascinating
Viet remains have drawn the
attention of scientists and
tourists. |