Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

When speaking of centers of manual production of ceramics at Thang Long – Hanoi, no Hanoian is not aware of the famous ancient ceramics village Bat Trang. But there is another center of ceramics production, nearly 500 years old, that is just discovered and excavated by archaeologists, at the site of Xom Trai Gom (Ceramics farm hamlet). This site is situated in the region of the Tang Long hamlet, commune of Viet Long, district of Soc Son, Hanoi. The site covers nearly all the Tang long hamlet, with an area of about 200,000m², extending in the orientation northwest-southeast along the two sides of the right bank dike of the river Cau, near Nga Ba Xa. The site has been run through and covered by the dike.

The site Xom Trai Gom has been discovered by archaeologists of the Department of History, High School of Social and Human Sciences (National University of Hanoi) at the end of 2005, and has been excavated from 10 to 11 – 2006.

With an area of 28m² for two pits (pit 1 has an area of 12m², pit 2 has an area of 16m²), the excavation has discovered the residence layer and the place of ceramics production dating from the XV-XVIII centuries.

Here, the archaeologists have discovered thousands of ceramics specimens, whole or mixed with spoiled products. In particular, in pit 1, one finds piles of finished products, well ordered, waiting to be transferred to the market. The study shows that most of ceramics was made of grey violet clay, consisting of fine and gross ceramics, high temperatured, many products have been vitrified. The types are very rich and multiform, comprising cooking-pots, vases, bowls, basins and lids of containers.

Surrounding finished products are heaps of spoiled products.

No traces of oven has been found because of the small area of excavation, but thousands of pieces of wall vitrified found in the pits show the ceramics are produced at place.

Beside the ceramics products discovered, in the 2 pits, the archaeologists have found many objects reflecting the life of handicraftsmen working here such as bowls, dishes, enamelled vases, fishing net leads and materials of construction by brick-red earthenware, dating from the XV-XVIII centuries.

Thus, one can say that with only two pits of excavation with a total area of 28m², the archaeological results have discovered a village of traditional ceramics production, prolonging from the XV to the XVIII century at the very suburb of Thang long – Hanoi. Certainly during these 300 years, Xom Trai Gom has been a center of ceramics production, the largest of the region of Thang Long, which is the main provider of earthenware container products for the people of Thang Long. After Dr Tran Anh Dung (Institute of Archaeology), who has himself participated to the excavation, the study of the earth layers, the density of distribution of specimens and their types, one can say that the site of Xom Trai Gom is a center of ceramics production, maybe of the same line as the ceramics center Tho Ha, because the site Xom Trai Gom is only 12km to the west of the ceramics center Tho Ha (at the left bank of river Cau). Nowadays, symmetrical with the site Xom Trai Gom with regard to the river Cau are rather big brick ovens in activity, suggesting a more thorough study of this site.

Certainly, if the exploration is authorized to continue, problems on the date, the character and the activity extent of a large ceramics production center will be clarified. In the report at the information conference of the 9^th of May 2007, the authors have emphasized:” the branches and the chiefs of local authority must coordinate with archaeologists to study in order to restore the traditional handicraft of our ancestors. This is also a trend of changing the economic structure in order to raise the life level of the people, as a concrete action to celebrate the 1000^th anniversary of Thang Long – Dong Do – Hanoi, a capital rich in culture and economy.

Thanh Sơn du tử