Dong Son bronze drums found in Malaysia date back 2,000 years

Eight Dong Son bronze drums discovered in several locations around the Malaysian peninsula are believed to have been left behind sometime between 500 BC-500 AD.

An ancient bronze drum recently found in Ta Thang village, Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. (Photo: NDO)
An ancient bronze drum recently found in Ta Thang village, Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai. (Photo: NDO)

>>> Ancient bronze drum discovered in Lao Cai

Assoc. Prof. Adnan Jusoh, a lecturer at the Pendidikan Sultan Idris University’s Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities, and History, said the time period affirmation was based on research he started in 2002 using typological analysis on the drums’ patterns.

He said there are various decorative patterns on the tympanum that are believed to be connected with the community’s socio-cultural system and activities at the time.

The earliest drum was found in Sungai Tembeling, Pahang state, in 1926. Four others were discovered in Selangor state and three more in Terengganu state.

They originated from Vietnam, with the name referring to a village called Dong Son and have become a sacred relic of Vietnamese culture.