Three samples of paddies excavated from an archaeological site in Hanoi, which are believed to be 3000 years old, will be sent to Japan for identifying the date this week.
Dr. Lam Thi My Dung, Chair of Archaeology in the History Department of Hanoi University for Social Sciences and Humanities, said a Japanese colleague agreed to perform free tests for the three samples of paddies.
“We will choose three samples of paddies which were excavated at different times, including those collected on June 7, to send to Japan,” Dung disclosed.
She also said there are two options. First, a test can be conducted at the Nagoya University, which owns a Tandetron AMS, the best equipment to define age, using the C14 method in Japan. However, the results of the test could not be yielded for at least one full year, because the list of samples for testing is very long.
Another option would be for the Vietnamese paddies to be tested at an independent centre, which also would have an AMS machine, and the result of that test could be supplied after one month.
Dung’s Japanese colleague advised her to send the samples to the independent centre, and if the result is good, other samples will be sent to the Nagoya University for verifying. The fee for testing is only US$600 per sample.
On June 8, Dr. Dung, on behalf of the excavation group, transferred 12 paddies collected June 8 at Thanh Den archaeological site in Hanoi to the Institute for Agricultural Genetics. All paddies were excavated from the site, which is believed to have belonged to the Dong Dau civilization, at least 3000-3500 years ago.
The Institute for Agricultural Genetics’ experts took photos of the ancient paddies after they were enlarged by microscope. Notably, some paddies stick together with the ancient soil.
“These samples are very important. The paddies that stick together with ancient soil couldn’t be brought to or fallen into the excavation hole by mice,” said a researcher from the Institute for Agricultural Genetics.
The Institute will preserve these paddies for research.
At the same time, ancient paddies that sprouted are developing very well at the institute. The highest seedlings are over 40cm.
Source: VietNamNet Bridge