200-year-old canon discovered in Quang Ninh.

The cannon is 1.5 meters in length and 0.2 meters in diameter, its barrel was engraved with characters in Han (Chinese) script, which can be roughly translated as ‘Minh Mang 18’.

The initial results revealed that the cannon dates back to the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945).

A kind of cannon was previously found in Viet Nam.

According to Chairman of Quan Lan commune People’s Committee, Luu Minh Duc, the cannon is now preserved at Van Son temple in waiting for further instructions.

Quan Lan was formerly the Van Don trading port, the first trading port of Vietnam built under the Ly dynasty in the 12th century. It was once a major trading center in Southeast Asia from the 12th to the 18th centuries, as it saw the participation of businessmen from Japan, China, India and the Netherlands.

Excavations carried out in the site so far have unveiled ancient architecture and grazed terracotta, proving that the place used to be a crowded urban area.

Source: NDO