HANOI, Vietnam, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Local experts displayed for the first time stunning royal artifacts recently unearthed by chance at the building site of Vietnam's new parliament building.
"This is the biggest and most important find in Vietnam's archaeological history," Tong Trung Tin, deputy director of the National Institute of Archaeology, told a news conference.
The Ministry of Information and Culture showed journalists with the Vietnam News Service several of the artifacts, estimated in the tens of thousands.
Archaeologists also announced the finding of pillar foundations, graves, a drainage system, wells and traces of an ancient river and lake.
Along with skeletal remains, ancient terrace dragons, phoenix statues, ceramic urns, gold jewelry, decorated swords and a cannon have been found.
Also discovered were antiquities and structures built on top of each other, ranging from the seventh to the 19th centuries, Tin said.
Among the discoveries were bowls from China and Japan, confirming international trade existed at that time.
