The sheet gold was discovered during an archaeological excavation in 2014 at Lo Gach Pagoda relic in BaSe A hamlet in Luong Hoa commune, Chau Thanh district in Tra Vinh province.

Lo Gach Pagoda relics have been identified as a religious architectural complex belonging to the Oc Eo culture, dating back to the 7-9th centuries. In 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) recognized it as a national archaeological site.

The collection of Chau Thanh, Tra Vinh sheet gold consists of nine gold sheets carved with lotus and elephant patterns, displayed at Tra Vinh Museum. These are thinly laminated gold sheets crafted with special techniques of engraving, mounding and riveting on the surface. They are original and unique artifacts.

The unearthed Chau Thanh and Tra Vinh sheet gold gives important evidence and serves as materials to research local characteristics and religious nature, with elements related to Buddhism. Also, the artifacts partially reflect the characteristics of the cultural structure and population in the late stage of Oc Eo culture. 

The artifacts are products of exchange between indigenous culture and imported cultural elements, and they highlight the appearance and nature of Oc Eo culture in Tra Vinh area.

The artifacts are a valuable information source for scientists to carry out research from many different angles, from stylistic characteristics to religious content to cultural relationships during the Oc Eo period, as well as the late stage of the culture.

The Lo Gach Pagoda artifacts reflect the characteristics of the jewelry craft during the socio-economic development of the southern region in the last century of the Oc Eo culture.

The characteristics prove that though the Oc Eo culture after the seventh century began to degrade, the traditional factors that developed in the previous periods could be inherited.

Lo Gach Pagoda area, together with other areas and spaces, shows the long existence of the culture until the 9th century, in addition to Oc Eo - Ba The and Go Thap relics.

An Giang province is the home of eight national treasures belonging to the Oc Eo culture which is 3,500 years old. Of these, two artifacts are displayed at An Giang Museum, while the other two are at the Oc Eo Culture House in Thoai Son district. 

The Oc Eo culture is associated with the history of the Funan Kingdom, an integral part of Vietnamese history. The first relics were discovered and excavated by Louis Malleret, a French archaeologist, at Vong The commune in Thoa iSon district in 1944.

Tinh Le