More than 1,000 artifacts uncovered during the excavation and restoration of towers in the world heritage site of My Son sanctuary in the central province of Quang Nam have been digitalised thanks to the assistance of experts from Italy and India.

Visitors at the My Son Sanctuary 

Italian experts have worked with technicians from the management board of the heritage site to digitalise the artifacts, including statues, bricks and other objects used for the construction of towers.

Head of the management board Phan Ho said the digitalisation is one of the notable outcomes of international cooperation efforts to protect the world heritage site.

Apart from the assistance of the Italian Government, experts from India have been providing support to upgrade the towers, during which they discovered an underground road and many valuable objects, he added.

All newly-found artifacts will be digitalised to make it easier for preservation and restoration, he said.

My Son Sanctuary is located in a hilly landscape in Duy Phu commune, Duy Xuyen district, about 70km southwest of central Da Nang city and 40km from Hoi An city – another UNESCO heritage site in Quang Nam.

It comprises eight groups of 71 monuments built throughout the 7th -13th centuries. The first construction of My Son dated back to the 4th century under the reign of Bhadravarman for the worship of God Shiva-Bhadresvara. But later on, the temple was destroyed. 

At the beginning of the 7th century, King Sambhuvarman had it rebuilt and rebaptised Sambhu-Bhadresvara. Each new monarch came to My Son after his accession to the throne for the ceremony of purification and to present offerings and erect new monuments, which explains why My Son is the only place where Cham art flourished without interruption from the 7th to 13th century.-VNA