One-of-a-Kind Boats, Dating Back 1,000 Years, Unearthed in Vietnam

Two remarkably well-preserved ancient wooden boats discovered in Bac Ninh Province are drawing national and international attention for their unprecedented design, historical significance, and potential to reveal hidden details about Vietnam’s ancient trade networks. Found submerged in a fish pond in Thuan Thanh near the western wall of the ancient Luy Lau Citadel, the twin-hulled vessels are believed to be the first of their kind discovered in Vietnam—or anywhere else in the world, for that matter.

Researchers affiliated with Vietnam’s Institute of Archaoelogy need to wait for radiocarbon dating results to be certain of when exactly these boats were made. However, some of the characteristics of the boats, such as the boat nails being made of wood and the planks being connected by hooks and wooden bars of equal length, suggests the vessels likely date from sometime between the 11th and 14th centuries, when the Ly and Tran dynasties ruled Vietnam.

The discovery was made in December 2024 by Nguyen Van Chien, a local resident who was dredging his family's pond in the Cong Ha neighborhood. Recognizing the structures he saw as potentially significant, Chien immediately notified authorities. The site was quickly secured, and from March 3 to April 3 a joint emergency excavation was launched by Bac Ninh’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology.

It was only after they’d been working for a while that the experts realized they were looking at boats that were totally unique in the archaeological record, not just in Vietnam but in the entire world.

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Innovative Engineering Hidden from the World for Centuries

The excavation, covering roughly 3,230 square feet (300 square meters), revealed two hulls of extraordinary size and complexity. Each hull measures more than 52 feet (16 meters) in length, 6.4 to 7.2 feet (1.95 to 2.2 meters) in width, and up to 7.1 feet (2.15 meters) in depth. The exposed portions of the boats revealed a construction style involving six distinct compartments, planks laid in multiple layers, and joints secured by wooden beams and pillars. Experts believe they were once part of a twin-hulled wooden vessel intended for transporting goods along Vietnam’s inland waterways.

Aerial view of the excavation site of the two boats, unearthed near the Luy Lau citadel in Vietnam. (Thanh Cong/Vietnam Institute of Archaeology).

The hulls of the ships are made from seven to eight layers of planks, each plank measuring 8.7 to 13.4 inches (22 to 34 centimeters) wide and an average thickness of 1.8 inches (4.5 centimeters). The bottom portions were hollowed out from single tree trunks, with diameters close to 37 inches (0.95 meters), while stern features show clear evidence of rudder structures and internal beams.

Especially noteworthy was a solid wooden beam connecting the two hulls at the bow, an architectural feature that is utterly unique, to Vietnam and to all of world history.

While the upper structure of the boats was missing, possibly dismantled or degraded over time, much of the hull remains intact. Burn marks on the planks suggest the boats may have sustained fire damage at some point in their history, which could explain why they were abandoned—or possibly could indicate that they were intentionally burned and then buried in some sort of ritual.

Researchers looking at artifacts taken from the boats, which are mostly nails and bolts used to hold them together. (Vietnam Institute of Archaeology).

Historical Context and Cultural Significance

Unearthed near the ancient capital of Luy Lau, this discovery offers marvelous insights into Vietnam’s ancient maritime history.

Luy Lau, located in the interior of North Vietnam, is one of the country’s most productive archaeological sites. In 1999, Japanese archaeologist Nishimura Masanari unearthed part of a bronze drum mould here, hinting at the existence of a sophisticated ancient foundry. Further excavations in 2014 confirmed the site of a large-scale metallurgy workshop. Over 2,300 pieces of bronze drum moulds were collected as recently as 2024, which created a lot of excitement in Vietnam’s archaeological community.

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The presence of these massive boats near Luy Lau suggests the site may have also served as a shipbuilding center or docking hub for merchant vessels navigating the Dau and Thien Duc (Duong) rivers, presumably between 700 and 1,000 years ago (if the estimates of the dates the boats were made is right). Researchers are currently examining plant seeds and organic matter from the boat compartments in hopes of identifying cargo and better understanding the area's role in ancient trade. These boats may hold vital clues about the economic fabric of the Red River Delta during the Ly and Tran dynasties, who ruled the nation in the relevant time period.

The integrity of the site is a top concern. According to Dr. Pham Van Trieu, Deputy Head of the Archaeology Department at the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, the boats’ fragile condition requires careful handling. Prolonged submersion in mud and water has left the wooden structures extremely fragile, and exposure to direct sunlight could cause them to crack, while improper excavation could lead to irreversible damage.

Dau pagoda, the earliest pagoda in Vietnam, 3nd century, in Luy Lau, Vietnam’s ancient capital. (Chitto/CC BY-SA 3.0).

To mitigate risks, local officials have recommended temporarily re-covering the site with soil and sand and sealing it with tarpaulins. A fence will also be installed to protect the excavation zone from environmental and human threats. The chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, Vuong Quoc Tuan, has called for continued research and greater public awareness to promote the preservation of his nation’s cultural heritage.

As Vietnam continues to uncover and interpret remnants of its ancient civilizations, the discovery of these twin-hulled boats may soon be recognized as one of the most important archaeological finds in the country’s recent history. Their unique design, sheer size, and connection to a historical trading hub suggest that much remains to be learned about the region’s maritime past, which was essential to the development of Vietnamese culture in ancient times.

Top image: Excavation site where the two boats were found in the province of Bac Ninh, Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam Institute of Archaeology.

By Nathan Falde