Hundreds of artefacts dating back to the 10th century have beendiscovered in Vinh Long commune, Vinh Loc district in the centralprovince of Thanh Hoa, about 1 km to the southeast of the Ho DynastyCitadel.

The antiques include bowls, plates and work instrumentsmade with materials such as porcelain, iron and precious stone,according to the Ho Dynasty Citadel Heritage Preservation Centre.

The highlight of the discovered subjects was a 25-33 centimetre glazed terra cotta jar.

All the articles have been transferred to the centre for further research and display.

The Ho Dynasty Citadel was recognised by UNESCO as a world Cultural Heritage Site in 2011.

The citadel was the cultural centre of the capital of Vietnam inthe late 14th century and early 15th century and a political, economicand cultural hub of the northern part of the central region of Vietnamfrom the 16th to the 18th century.

It was builtin 1397 in the two communes of Vinh Tien and Vinh Long in Vinh Locdistrict, Thanh Hoa province under the supervision of the Tran dynasty'stop mandarin, Ho Quy Ly. He later occupied the citadel when he forciblytook the throne in 1400, changing the country's name from Dai Viet toDai Ngu.

Unlike many other citadels built frombricks, the Ho Dynasty Citadel was built with huge stone slabs fromnearby mountains. It features four arched gates facing east, west, northand south. The large stone slabs required a new building technique thatworkers installed without the use of mortar.-VNA