734 SITO ARCHEOLOGICO MY SON
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 4.19 mi
- Elevation gain
- 157 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Easy
- Elevation loss
- 157 ft
- Max elevation
- 178 ft
- TrailRank
-
71
5
- Min elevation
- -1 ft
- Trail type
- Loop
- Time
- 2 hours 36 minutes
- Coordinates
- 641
- Uploaded
- March 19, 2023
- Recorded
- March 2023
near An Chinh, Quảng Nam (Vietnam)
Viewed 417 times, downloaded 2 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Extract from the travel notes of two participants in the expedition, Cristina and Milena, who with patience and passion have put pen to paper, drawing and snatching information from Vietnamese guides.
My Son, an ancient archaeological site.
It was an ancient citadel, founded by Malaysian and Indochinese fishermen of Indian origin in the 5th century AD Going up the coast these fishermen arrived in Vietnam in the valley of My Son, dominated by a conical mountain which reminded them of the famous mythological mountain Meru, home of the gods for the Indians. In the 7th century the various villages united under a single king: the Champa empire was formed. Their language was Sanskrit. They built many Hindu temples (also in Laos and Cambodia under other empires). In colonial times Europeans called all these countries located between India and China, Indochina. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were French Indochina.
When the king of Champa married a North Vietnamese princess, the capital became Huè, a city located very close to the empire, which thus lost its independence while maintaining its own autonomy until 1882.
The Champas had to move south of Vietnam where they are still in the province of Vijaya.
Moving they were no longer able to return to the Hindu temples that were abandoned until the times of colonialism, when the French freed them from the vegetation and then attempted to restore them, they were then destroyed again by American bombs in 1968-1969. The Americans launched chemical and napalm bombs to flush out the Vietcong who were in the bush (even around the Hindu temples), in fact there are at least 4 bomb holes in the archaeological site.
Later the valley was cleared of mines and the temples were restored. The latest renovations were by the University of Milan and were inaugurated in 2021.
The first temples built by the Champas were made of wood. They often burned from fires that were lit to cook food or offer gifts.
Altar consists of 3 pieces, which symbolize the male (Inga/anga) and female (iomi) sex. On these altars animals were sacrificed to the gods (the cow, the karuta bird and the snake are sacred animals) and the blood of the animals or the sacred water of the washing flowed from the groove. In the altar the upper part is like a sort of mountain and represented India and the god Shiva the most important Hindu deity (the destroyer) The collection basin of the offerings represented the earth and the god Brahma (creator, god of fertility) . The lower part represents Vishnu (preserver).
We saw an Apsara dance show, a dance that was used in the imperial palaces, where the hand movements symbolize fruit, flowers, birds to be offered to the gods.
The various archaeological sites are identified with letters, B5 being the most beautiful, B6 being the leaning tower, B1 being the main stone temple (kalan).
When there are windows, there is no altar inside, but the building is used as a warehouse for preparing the offerings (waiting house). In the gate tower the priest and the king prayed before bringing the offerings into the temple with the altar.
C1: has a statue on the front. There are original bricks and new bricks. On the original ones, resin, honey and lime were used to make a glue, which was put on the bricks. Then wood was placed inside and outside, which was set on fire. In this way the resin was cooked and no fissures remained or moss grew. Newer bricks are lighter because they are not fired twice and are not as blended together. It was the Italian archaeologists from the Architecture Department of the University of Milan who understood the process of building the temples.
The oldest temples are from the 7th-8th century (the worst preserved and most bombed) the most recent from the 14th century. The temples consisted of a main central body (talam) with a dark interior where there is an altar dedicated to the major Hindu deities alongside there could be similar smaller buildings dedicated to minor deities. In line with the main building, the gate tower and the waiting house.
The temples visited have all undergone a major restoration; in addition to Italy, India has also taken care of the restoration of a temple inaugurated in 2007 while the last temple visited has yet to be inaugurated, of which the base of the surrounding walls that served to preserve the offerings from the attack of wild animals has remained of the forest.
excerpt from wikipedia
The monumental complex of Mỹ Sơn is located in the province of Quảng Nam, about 70 km from the city of Đà Nẵng, in central Viêt Nam. In 1999, UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site.
Index
1 History
2 Bibliography
3 Other projects
4 External Links
History
The oldest trace of cult monuments at Mỹ Sơn is the 4th-century inscribed stele, in which King Bhadravarman announces the establishment of a temple dedicated to Shiva Bhadreshvara. This foundation has particular historical significance, as the religious complex of Mỹ Sơn was the main place of worship of the rulers of the Champa kingdom, as well as the place where they were cremated after their death.
Nothing remains of the first phase of existence of the monumental complex, probably because all the structures were built in wood and other perishable materials. The Cham epigraphs speak of brick buildings only starting from the 7th century.
Of the eleven known monument groups, the oldest is group E, which dates back to the 8th century. The complex ceased to be used for religious purposes in the XIII century.
My Son, an ancient archaeological site.
It was an ancient citadel, founded by Malaysian and Indochinese fishermen of Indian origin in the 5th century AD Going up the coast these fishermen arrived in Vietnam in the valley of My Son, dominated by a conical mountain which reminded them of the famous mythological mountain Meru, home of the gods for the Indians. In the 7th century the various villages united under a single king: the Champa empire was formed. Their language was Sanskrit. They built many Hindu temples (also in Laos and Cambodia under other empires). In colonial times Europeans called all these countries located between India and China, Indochina. Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were French Indochina.
When the king of Champa married a North Vietnamese princess, the capital became Huè, a city located very close to the empire, which thus lost its independence while maintaining its own autonomy until 1882.
The Champas had to move south of Vietnam where they are still in the province of Vijaya.
Moving they were no longer able to return to the Hindu temples that were abandoned until the times of colonialism, when the French freed them from the vegetation and then attempted to restore them, they were then destroyed again by American bombs in 1968-1969. The Americans launched chemical and napalm bombs to flush out the Vietcong who were in the bush (even around the Hindu temples), in fact there are at least 4 bomb holes in the archaeological site.
Later the valley was cleared of mines and the temples were restored. The latest renovations were by the University of Milan and were inaugurated in 2021.
The first temples built by the Champas were made of wood. They often burned from fires that were lit to cook food or offer gifts.
Altar consists of 3 pieces, which symbolize the male (Inga/anga) and female (iomi) sex. On these altars animals were sacrificed to the gods (the cow, the karuta bird and the snake are sacred animals) and the blood of the animals or the sacred water of the washing flowed from the groove. In the altar the upper part is like a sort of mountain and represented India and the god Shiva the most important Hindu deity (the destroyer) The collection basin of the offerings represented the earth and the god Brahma (creator, god of fertility) . The lower part represents Vishnu (preserver).
We saw an Apsara dance show, a dance that was used in the imperial palaces, where the hand movements symbolize fruit, flowers, birds to be offered to the gods.
The various archaeological sites are identified with letters, B5 being the most beautiful, B6 being the leaning tower, B1 being the main stone temple (kalan).
When there are windows, there is no altar inside, but the building is used as a warehouse for preparing the offerings (waiting house). In the gate tower the priest and the king prayed before bringing the offerings into the temple with the altar.
C1: has a statue on the front. There are original bricks and new bricks. On the original ones, resin, honey and lime were used to make a glue, which was put on the bricks. Then wood was placed inside and outside, which was set on fire. In this way the resin was cooked and no fissures remained or moss grew. Newer bricks are lighter because they are not fired twice and are not as blended together. It was the Italian archaeologists from the Architecture Department of the University of Milan who understood the process of building the temples.
The oldest temples are from the 7th-8th century (the worst preserved and most bombed) the most recent from the 14th century. The temples consisted of a main central body (talam) with a dark interior where there is an altar dedicated to the major Hindu deities alongside there could be similar smaller buildings dedicated to minor deities. In line with the main building, the gate tower and the waiting house.
The temples visited have all undergone a major restoration; in addition to Italy, India has also taken care of the restoration of a temple inaugurated in 2007 while the last temple visited has yet to be inaugurated, of which the base of the surrounding walls that served to preserve the offerings from the attack of wild animals has remained of the forest.
excerpt from wikipedia
The monumental complex of Mỹ Sơn is located in the province of Quảng Nam, about 70 km from the city of Đà Nẵng, in central Viêt Nam. In 1999, UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site.
Index
1 History
2 Bibliography
3 Other projects
4 External Links
History
The oldest trace of cult monuments at Mỹ Sơn is the 4th-century inscribed stele, in which King Bhadravarman announces the establishment of a temple dedicated to Shiva Bhadreshvara. This foundation has particular historical significance, as the religious complex of Mỹ Sơn was the main place of worship of the rulers of the Champa kingdom, as well as the place where they were cremated after their death.
Nothing remains of the first phase of existence of the monumental complex, probably because all the structures were built in wood and other perishable materials. The Cham epigraphs speak of brick buildings only starting from the 7th century.
Of the eleven known monument groups, the oldest is group E, which dates back to the 8th century. The complex ceased to be used for religious purposes in the XIII century.
Waypoints
Waypoint
143 ft
838
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Ciò che resta dell'antica civiltà Champa nella valle dei templi My Son, dopo i bombardamenti americani.