Bac Son Seal – A unique relic of Bac Son culture in the Neolithic era

– Bac Son Seal is a typical, unique and characteristic relic of Bac Son’s archaeological culture in the early Neolithic era. Recognizing the value of this relic for research and archaeological tourism in the province, over the past time, the agencies that are keeping this relic have had many practical solutions, contributing to preserving and promoting relic values ​​for Lang Son ethnic groups today and tomorrow.

In the middle of March 2021, we found the Provincial Museum which is one of the two places keeping Bac Son Seals. Seeing Bac Son Seals with our own eyes, we can feel that ancient people’s artifact and hewing techniques reached a high level in this period.

Over the past time, the Provincial Museum has had many practical activities, contributing to preserving and promoting this unique relic. Mr. Nong Duc Kien, Director of the Provincial Museum, said that right after discovering the seals, they made a scientific record, entered the archives for each piece; digitized by image materials to post on the museum’s website in the section “Library of Artifacts – Artifacts of Pottery – Porcelain”. In particular, every year, they still coordinate with scientists of the Vietnam Institute of Archeology to conduct research and clarify the function of these Bac Son Seals. Along with that, they also choose some typical Bac Son Seals to display in the Bac Son culture section at the museum’s gallery to introduce to visitors.

The officers of Inventory and Preservation Division, the Provincial Museum researched the value of Bac Son Seals

Mr. Nguyen Van Hien, Tam Thanh ward, Lang Son city, said that he has a child in grade 7, to help his child gain more knowledge about the local history, he often takes his child to the Provincial Museum to visit and study. Among many relics on display here, he is very impressed with Bac Son Seals. These relics help him and his child visualize a part of Lang Son people’s lives in ancient times.

Along with the Provincial Museum, Bac Son Uprising Museum, Bac Son district is the place to keep many valuable artifacts of Bac Son’s archaeological culture, including three Bac Son Seals. Over the past years, Bac Son District Culture, Sports and Communication Center has directed staff in charge of the museum to clean and preserve the relics with professional techniques twice a week. In addition, the center also guides the team of speakers to integrate advertising the relics when guiding delegations to visit the museum. Particularly from 2019 up to now, Bac Son Uprising Museum has welcomed nearly 12 thousand visitors who are all introduced about the value of Bac Son Seals by speakers.

Mr. Luong Dinh Duyen, Deputy Director of Bac Son District Culture, Information and Communication Center, said that in the coming time, they will advise the District People’s Committee to coordinate with the Provincial Museum to continue consulting with researchers and experts to clarify the use of Bac Son Seals to have a scientific basis to preserve and promote the value of these relics better. In the near future, they will strengthen the promotion and introduce the typical features and historical values ​​of the seals to visitors.

In the whole province, there are 99 Bac Son Seals being kept, preserved and displayed at the Provincial Museum (96 seals) and Bac Son Uprising Museum, Bac Son district (three seals). These seals were discovered in archaeological excavations from about 1984 to present at places such as Bat Cave (Vu Le commune, Bac Son district); Phja Diem (Yen Trach commune, Cao Loc district); Bo Nam, Nguom Sau (Chi Lang district) and so on.

Along with other relics, Bac Son Seal is a unique relic of Bac Son archaeological culture in the Neolithic era that has been and is gradually “telling” stories of the past. Hopefully, in the coming time, the agencies that are currently keeping this unique relic will have more creative and effective solutions to help spread the value of Bac Son Seal to many domestic and foreign tourists.

According to archaeologists, all Bac Son Seals are made from Schiste rock, on average 8 – 15cm long, in the form of a small, long, slightly flat pebble, on one or two thin edges with two fairly even parallel grooves. Besides Bac Son culture’s typical relics such as blade sharpening axes, pebble tools to hewn, Bac Son Seal is the criterion indicating cultural features and if any archaeological relic having this type of artifacts is often immediately classified into Bac Son culture.