Police in northern Vietnam are investigating whether a bronze drum held by a provincial museum is the same artifact villagers discovered in a mountain cave 32 years ago, as missing records complicate efforts to establish its identity.
On the morning of Oct. 2, a leader of the Ninh Binh Department of Culture and Sports told VietNamNet that authorities had yet to reach a conclusion in their investigation into the bronze drum discovered in 1994 in the former Thach Binh Commune.
Documents related to the bronze drum discovered in 1994 have been lost, while people familiar with the case have retired and are no longer in their former positions.
According to a report sent by Ninh Binh Provincial Police to the department, police have coordinated efforts to verify information about the artifact found by residents of the former Thach Binh Commune, now Phu Son Commune, in 1994.
Ninh Binh police have reviewed the case and worked with parties involved in the discovery and handover of the bronze drum.
However, because the events date back to 1994, relevant documents have been lost, while people familiar with the case have since retired and are no longer working in their former positions.
The director of Ninh Binh Provincial Police has instructed specialized units to coordinate with relevant authorities to collect information for verification and examination of any connection between a bronze drum currently held at Ninh Binh Provincial Museum's Facility No. 1 and photographs of the drum provided by residents of Phu Son Commune.
Earlier, residents of Doi Bo Hamlet in the former Thach Binh Commune, Nho Quan District, now Binh Phu Hamlet in Phu Son Commune, Ninh Binh Province, submitted petitions to local authorities and relevant agencies seeking to determine what happened to the bronze drum.
The artifact was discovered in a mountain cave in the Thung Mai area in 1994 by Quach Van Quynh, born in 1982, Quach Van Luan, born in 1981, and Bui Van Chien, born in 1984, while they were collecting firewood in the mountains.
A subsequent review found that Ninh Binh Provincial Museum currently holds a bronze drum registered under No. 2958/KL381. It was handed over to the provincial museum by the former Nho Quan District Police on Dec. 23, 1998.
Authorities are still investigating whether the bronze drum held by the museum and the one discovered in 1994 are the same artifact.
The people who discovered the bronze drum in 1994 still do not know what happened to it.
Records state that the drum was discovered by three students in a water-filled cave in Thach La Hamlet, former Thach Binh Commune, Nho Quan District.
The 1994 drum and the artifact transferred to the museum in 1998 share one notable detail: both were reportedly discovered in a cave by three students.
Other available information, however, is insufficient to establish that the bronze drum currently preserved at Ninh Binh Provincial Museum is the same artifact discovered by Quynh and his two friends in 1994.
The 1998 handover record between Nho Quan District Police and museum staff contains a note stating that a "detailed handover record is attached."
However, a search of the provincial museum's archives has failed to locate that document.
Vietnamnet.vn
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