A clay mould in the form of a Bodhi leaf, dating back 700 years, has been unearthed among other valuable antiques at an excavation site in the central province of Ha Tinh.

A clay mould in the form of a Bodhi leaf has been unearthed at the ruins of the ancient Cuu Dien Tower on Nghen Mountain in Ha Tinh province

Nguyen Tri Son, Director of the Ha Tinh provincial museum, told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper that a group from the museum as well as experts from the Hanoi National University discovered various antiques at the ruins of the ancient Cuu Dien tower on Nghen Mountain in Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province.

Among the most intact objects was a clay mould in the form of a Bodhi leaf. The mould measures 0.3m in height and 0.08m in thickness. The middle of the leaf has images of three towers.

According to Son, some historical records found in the area reveal that the Cuu Dien tower used to have nine storeys, measuring more than 100m. The tower collapsed in the 35th Canh Hung Year (1774).

He said the mould might have been used to make clay bricks to build the tower.

A brick with patterns of dragons indicating of Tran Dynasty

At the 100sq.m foundation of the tower, experts found various clay objects such as bricks, tiles and decorative patterns.

Some of the bricks, measuring 0.05m in thickness and 0.2m in width, had Chinese characters carved on them.

Researcher Dang Hong Son said the characters recorded the storey that the bricks were placed on. Some bricks also have patterns of dragon heads indicating the Tran Dynasty (1225-1400).

The findings confirm that the Cuu Dien tower dedicated to Buddha did exist and will be useful to recover the tower in future.-VNA