Thanh Hoa (VNA) - A cave in the centralprovince of Thanh Hoa has just been recognised as a Special NationalArchaeological Site by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for itshistoric values.

A dossier on the cave is being compiled by Vietnamese experts to seek the UNcultural agency UNESCO’s recognition as a World Culture Heritage Site.

Discovered in 1974, Con Moong Cave has been excavated many times and isdetermined to be the first site ever in the country containing traces of thecontinuous living process of ancient humans from the Paleolithic period to theNeolithic period.

This is the fourth site in the province to be recognised as a National RelicSite, following Lam Kinh Historical Site, Ba Trieu Temple and Ho Citadel. Thelast has been recognised as a World Heritage site by UNESCO.

Con Moong (in ethnic Mường language means “animal”) Cave located in Thanh Trungvillage, Thanh Yen commune, Thach Thanh district, is at the ultimate height of147m above sea level.

The cave is on a karst mountain, which belongs to the Dong Giao geologicallayer dating back to 240 million years ago.

The cave measures some 40m in length, with two gates on both ends. Inside thecave, the ceiling at some places is 10m high.

Since its discovery in 1974, the cave has been excavated four times. The firstexcavation in 1974 explored a total area of 24sq.m. The findings showed thecontinuous development of stone working tools of the Stone Ages in Vietnam.

In 2008-09, the cave was excavated the second time, while the next excavationswere organised in 2010-13 and 2014.

Various other caves have also been discovered near Con Moong, including LaiCave, Chun Cave, Bo Giao Cave, Diem Cave and Moc Long Cave.

Bui Thi Tuyet, an official from the Thanh Hoa Culture, Sports and TourismDepartment, said following the findings by archaeologists at Con Moong Cave,this site is determined to be very valuable as it represents many ancientcivilisations and shows the continuous presence of early humans during thehistorical periods.

Con Moong Cave has a soil structure that is 9.5m thick on average with 10different layers.

From the first to the sixth layer (1-6m depth), scientists found many workingtools, animal bones and snail shells. From the seventh to tenth layer, theyfound no animal traces but many working tools made of quartz, mostly at a depthof 8.5-9.5m.

Scientists also found that the earliest traces at the cave dated back to40,000-60,000 years ago.

At Diem Cave, Russia and Vietnamese experts researched the soil, which is 1.95mthick, representing three layers of civilisations dated back to 11,240 yearsago.

The cave was determined to be a residential area with tombs from variousperiods. Nearly 2,000 objects were found, including several stone workingtools, bones and ceramic broken pieces, and three tombs.

At Mang Chieng Cave, located 4km from Con Moong Cave, archaeologists foundlayers representing three cultures at a depth of 1.2m. Ten tombs were found atthe site, together with stone tools, bones and traces of bonfires. Bones of thecorpses were broken and burnt before being buried.

“With such valuable excavation results, Con Moong Cave is among the very rarearchaeological sites with thick and intact soil layers in Vietnam and SoutheastAsia,” Pham Duy Phuong, director of the Thanh Hoa culture department, said.

“Objects found at the site are concrete evidence of the traditions of those residingin caves, their habit of making and using stone tools and the changes intechniques of making stone tools,” he said.

Pham Dang Quyen, vice chairman of the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee, said theauthorities would draft a master plan to preserve and bring into full play therelic site.

“We will have a long-term plan to upgrade the roads leading to the site,” hesaid.

“We will also coordinate with the neighbouring provinces of Ninh Binh and HoaBinh, and the Management Board of the Cuc Phuong National Park as the cave islocated in Thanh Hoa province, although it belongs to the buffer zone of theCuc Phuong National Park.

"Raising awareness among locals in preserving thesite is also on our must-do list,” he added.-VNA