An over 1,000-year-old Cham tower in the central Vietnamese province of Thua Thien-Hue has been recognized as the world’s first ancient brick Cham tower buried deep under the coastal sand dunes to have been excavated and preserved.
Representatives of the Vietnam Records Organization (Vietkings) and the World Records Union (WorldKings) announced the granting of the national and world records to the local Phu Dien Cham Tower at a ceremony held by the History Museum of Thua Thien-Hue on Monday evening.
In April 2001, the tower was discovered in the coastal sand dunes of Phu Dien Commune in Phu Vang District.
It was buried in sand from five to seven meters underground.
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| A bird’s-eye view of the Phu Dien Cham Tower in Phu Dien Commune, Phu Vang District, Thua Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam. Photo: Duc Loc / Tuoi Tre |
The overall view of the building is a rectangular architectural block that gets smaller toward the top.
It is one of the earliest remaining Cham brick structures in the central region, dating back to around the eighth century.
With its historical values, the tower, accredited as a national architectural and art relic in December 2001, earned its national anđ world record recognition by both the Vietkings and WorldKings this year.