Ban Chieng site in Nong Han district, Udon Thani province (Northeast Thailand). In the years of 60 - 70 of 20th century, the Ban Chieng site was discovered and excavated with a huge amount of objects include many diffirent materials as: stone, pottery, bronze, iron, glass, bone. That's why the Ban Chieng was become a famous site and played a very important role in studying of Metal Age in Northeast Thailand as well as Southeast Asia.
Ban Chieng site in Nong Han district, Udon Thani province (Northeast Thailand). In the years of 60 - 70 of 20th century, the Ban Chieng site was discovered and excavated with a huge amount of objects include many diffirent materials as: stone, pottery, bronze, iron, glass, bone. That's why the Ban Chieng was become a famous site and played a very important role in studying of Metal Age in Northeast Thailand as well as Southeast Asia.
Ceramic wares with beautiful and stranged colour decorations were found in this site attracted everybody's interest and quickly become a characteristic of Ban Chieng culture.
On October 2005, National Museum of Vietnamese History was offered 3 ceramic vases with beautiful colour decoration by Mr. Nguyen Tan Phuoc - an overseas Vietnamese (in Switzerland), director of Asia-Africa Museum. 3 vases are 3 types of diffirent decoration with red coloured decoration on a ivory white background such as:
1. Vase registered number LSb 32777, mesuring: mouth diametre 21cm, ring-foot diametre 17.5cm, height 24cm. Everted rim, egg-shaped body, high ring-foot with the typical decoration is red incised pattern.
2. Vase registered number LSb 32778, mesuring: mouth diametre 15.7cm, ring-foot diametre 6cm, height 21.5cm. Everted rim, short neck, spherical body, with the typical decoration is S motif.
3. Vase registered number LSb 32779, mesuring: mouth diametre 12.5cm, ring-foot diametre 13cm, height 16.6cm. Everted rim, short neck, spherical body, high ring-foot with the typical decoration as: flower, concentric-circle.
Date: There were some diffirent ideas of these wares: previously (when the Ban Chieng site was discovered), in the book "Thai ceramics from the Art gallery of South Australia", Adelaide, Published in 1977, Mr. Dick Richards commented these wares dated circa 3.000 B.C. Then, many scientists who researched into Southeast Asia archaeology doubted and thought that: date of Ban Chieng site must be later than 3.000 B.C.
In the written papers "Revise date of Ban Chieng" (in the book "The Ban Chieng chronology revised", compiled by Archaeological Institute, Publisher BAR International series 1999), Joyce White commented the Ban Chieng ceramic wares were dated 300 B.C - 100 A.D.
In the same that comments is the book "Ban Chieng heritage" compiled by Archaeological Faculty, Publisher Thailand Fine Art Departement 1991.
Finally, in the book "Prehistoric Thailand from Early settlement to Sokhothai", Publisher River Books 1998, 2 co-author Mr.Charles Higham and Rachaine Thosarat commented the Ban Chieng ceramic wares couldn't be more earler than 1.000 B.C.
These 3 vases were in enriched store of National Museum of Vietnamese Hiastory. Moreover, they are also a value document for scientists to compare with Vietnamese native culture as well as other Southeast Asia countries in prehistoric period.