A 150-year-old temple used for the worship of nature spirits has been unearthed in the former royal capital of Hue by a team of archaeologists led by Phan Thuan An.
The Son Xuyen Altar was built in 1853 during the Nguyen Dynasty’s King Tu Duc and was used as a place of nature worship until the early part of the 20 th century, after which it was abandoned and forgotten.
According to An, the temple is possibly the last remaining example of its kind in the country, and is thought to have been the most important as it was erected in the ancient capital city.
The “altar” was unearthed in the grounds of the
The Son Xuyen Altar was constructed of stone and had two floors – the ground floor had an area of 90sq.m. The structure was found partially buried, with only the second floor emerging about one metre above ground. The temple grounds were fairly extensive, estimated to have occupied an area of 8,410 sq.m.
The temple’s original stone stele and ancestral tablet had been replaced by two concrete altars used for worship.
The Son Xuyen Altar is reminiscent of Xa Tac Altar, which was used during the Nguyen Dynasty for the worship of the God of Land and the God of Farming, two leading deities.
The Son Xuyen Altar was one of 26 temples used for worshipping mountain and river spirits, according to Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi (History of the Unification of Great Viet Nam).
Source: vna
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