Ha Noi is now struggling to harmonise the conservation of its heritage with new development projects.

Construction of the contentious new road linking Van Cao Street and West Lake has been halted following the unearthing of 1,000-old Ly-Tran and Le dynasty artefacts on Hoang Hoa Tham Street.

Archaeologists said the new road, which engineers were aiming to complete in time for celebrations of the 1,000th anniversary of Thang Long-Ha Noi, ploughed though parts of the old citadel wall which contained priceless artefacts dating back to the dynasties of Nguyen (1802-1945), Le (1428-1788), Tran (1225-1400) and Ly (1010-1225).

"The historical value of the Thang Long citadel is as important as that of the Co Loa citadel built by King An Duong Vuong (about 275BC), which is located in Dong Anh District, some 20km to the north of Ha Noi's centre," said professor Trinh Sinh from the Archaeological Institute.

Professor Vu Van Quan, from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, said construction workers had destroyed a huge part of the old citadel wall.

Road building was halted for three days due to complaints by local residents, but construction work is now continuing.

"It would take archaeologists several months to excavate the site. But the road construction project needs to be completed soon to meet the needs of society," said Nguyen Lan Cuong, deputy general secretary of the Viet Nam Archaeology Association.

The Cultural Heritage Law, first introduced in 2001, was amended and took effect on January 1 this year. It stipulates that construction work must be halted if artefacts of national importance are unearthed and that finds must be reported to the local department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

However, Pham Quang Long, head of the Ha Noi culture department, admitted that there was a conflict of interest between the heritage law and the need for development.

"Someone has called Ha Noi a city of heritage and if we dig up any land underneath our feet, we'll find layers of cultural remains. The issue is what to keep. We can't keep everything," Long said.

He said that when engineers were told to preserve the former royal citadel wall dating back to thousands of years a go, the Kim Lien-O Cho Dua road was constructed at an enormous cost.

"Heritage needs to be treated in a way to make it alive. We can all see that the part of the La Thanh dyke that we preserved is no more than just a narrow road surrounded by residential housing."

Other sites that have been preserved include Bach Ma (White Horse) temple and Mot Cot (One-pillar) pagoda. "They both are very unique and need to be preserved. However, they are still surrounded by residential housing and other buildings," Long said.

Nguyen Van Son, director of the Co Loa citadel preservation plan, agreed that heritage and development could go hand in hand.

The destruction of sections of the old citadel on Hoang Hoa Tham Street has raised questions about the practicability of the Heritage Law and the Ministry of Construction's development master plan for Ha Noi up to 2030.

Nguyen Doan Tuan, head of the Ha Noi's heritage and scenic point management board, said: "Under the master plan, only known heritage sites will be protected, not those that have yet to be discovered."

Tran Ngoc Chinh, head of the office overseeing planning and construction, said the development master plan stipulated that parts of the Old Quarter, Thang Long Citadel and Duong Lam Village would be preserved.

Historians say an archaeological map should be incorporated into the development master plan for Ha Noi to ensure ancient sites are preserved. Professor Phan Huy Le, chairman of the Vietnamese Historical Science Association, said: "If Ha Noi had an archaeological plan, the tragedy that has taken place along Hoang Hoa Tham Street would never have happened."

Cuong said that in 2002, the Institute of Archaeology drew up a detailed map of the city's ancient sites. However, he said the project was never officially approved.

Long said the Culture, Sports, Tourism Department was aware of the need for a map of the city's ancient sites. However, he said: "This is not a simple task. The department doesn't have trained staff and has to borrow archaeological experts from other places, which is not always easy."

Source: VNS