The 2km road linking the citadel’s southern gate with the Nam Giao worship platform has been described as the ‘most beautiful old stone road ever built in the country’.

Archaeologists excavated a total area of 1,500 square meters in front of the southern gate revealing blue stones as big as one square meter buried one meter deep underground.

The road is thought to have been used by the king and the royal family when travelling between the citadel and nearby Nam Giao worship platform to pray to heaven for peace and prosperity at the peak of Don Son Moutain.

Archaeologists have found the road almost intact and discovered various antiques including metal spears, stone cannon balls and ceramic objects from the early period of the late Le Dynasty (1428-1527) as well as architectural decorations from periods.

Researchers and director of the Ho Citadel Preservation Management Centre Do Quang Trong said the good state of the road was thanks to the time and energy the original builders put into construction.

“So far, this is the most beautiful old stone road found in the country,” he said.

The road has been listed in the heritage site of the citadel to submit to UNESCO by the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a professional association that works to conserve and protect sites of cultural heritage around the world. There is high hope that the road would be listed among the oldest stone paths of royal citadels in Southeast Asia.

VNS