Dak Lak (VNS/VNA) - Sitting in a cornerof his museum, Hoang Thanh in the Central Highlands province of DakLak's Buon Ma Thuot city cautiously cleans rocks whilesurrounded by thousands of fossilised snails, molluscs and wood.All of them date back hundreds of millions of years.

Thanh, 58, has spent decades collectingfossils and is known among archaeologists nationwide as the ownerof the largest private museum of palaeontology.

The museum is located in his homedown a small alley in the city's Ea Tam ward.

Fossils line the entrance to thebuilding, and as we pass through we reach a large garden which lookslike a wild forest with plants native to the region.

The forest surrounding the house masks thenoise from the busy town outside.

Thanh was born and grew up in Quang Diendistrict in the central province of Thua Thien - Hue, butleft to work for a construction company in Dak Lak.

His job took him across the country which wasdemanding but also gave him the chance to discover geology andpalaeontology.

At first he was just curious aboutthe beautiful oddities and wanted to keep them assouvenirs to show friends and relatives.

Due to his heavy workload, Thanh forgot hishobby for many years until one day in the 1990s hiseldest child asked him where the strange-shaped stones came from.

The question confused him at first and wasunable to answer it immediately, but at the same time, he realised hewanted to find out.

He began his journey to discover wherethe rocks had come from, and what they were. In addition to finding booksto explain to his child, he also started collecting more fossils.

His home started turning into a miniature museumwith countless fossils in 2000.

"They may look inanimate, but to me theytell strange and vivid stories. I can't stop it," he said.

"If I had money, I would go everywhere,wandering down the Serepok River to pick up strange rocks. Eachspecimen conveys a message of time and life from millions of years ago,”according to the collector.

Thanh has become famous in the city thanks tohis collection.

Archaeologists and top professors began tovisit him and his museum for research and discussions.

Talking with experts and his researchhelped him gradually understand the samples. He was able to answerhis son's questions and his inner passion for sciencewas rekindled.

“I am like an addict, and whenever I know thereare traces of fossil specimens, I will go to collect them. I have a desireto learn more about the origins of ancient creatures and the formation oflife,” he said.

His wife tried to stop him to start with becausehe was spending all his money, and some of his neighbours thought he was crazy.

Despite all the harsh words, Thanh followedhis passion and tried to persuade his wife to believe in him, and itworked.

“Do not think of them as just rocks, becausehundreds of millions of years ago they owned this planet, nothumans. Their fossils tell us a story of the formation of Earthtoday. The traces left behind show it was a miracle,” according to thecollector.

Holding a shell, Thanh said: “This fossilis the clearest evidence that Dak Lak used to be under a sea. Throughtectonic change in the Earth's crust, the continental platesseparated and connected, making the Central Highlands the plateau theyare today.”

Many leading experts and foreign touristsare surprised by his collection. 

In 2007, Prof Vu Ngoc Hai,former deputy minister of Education and Training and anexpert in geological and mineral resources, visited Thanh'smuseum to view his collection.

He then introduced Thanh to theVietnam Museum of Nature.

Three years later, the museum sent a groupof scientists to his house to conduct a survey of thecollection.

Thanh then decided to donate 11 tonnes offossils to Hanoi for public exhibition, and in 2017 the collector sent afurther 1,600 marine fossils to the HCM City Museum.

“I will continue to search for and collectfossils. If any museum wants them, I'm happy to hand them over. I justwant my efforts to be recognised and researched. Only thatwill satisfy me," Thanh said.

Nguyen Huu Hung, PhD in palaeontology atthe Vietnam Museum of Nature, said the fossils in Thanh's collectionheld geological and stratigraphic significance.

“His collection is of great value as itcovers the entire Jurassic period when dinosaurs lived on Earth over170 million years ago. At that time, the region was under water. Thishas been proved by the ancient fossils Thanhhas found," Hung said.

"Maybe those species were the largest atthat time and only existed in the Central Highlands. The museum isdisplaying these items, which are really very valuable," Hung added.

Meanwhile, Thanh wants authorities to paymore attention to zoning and protecting areas where fossils are foundand create favourable conditions for scientists toconduct more in-depth studies about that period in history.

The collector said he was happy to welcomevisitors, particularly teachers and students from the city's secondaryschools, and was happy spending hours with them to explain hiscollection./.