Duong Long Towers

Duong Long is a group of three twelfth-century Cham towers in Tay Son District, Binh Dinh Province; the central one is considered the tallest brick structure of Champa in Vietnam and rises about twenty-four metres, with the flanking towers a couple of metres lower. The towers are built in a single row with their entrances facing east, and French researchers called the complex the "Ivory Towers". It stands out for the abundance of stone carving on the lower tiers: elephants, makaras, nagas and large sandstone lotus rosettes. Here the lower parts of the walls are laid in dressed stone altogether, and only higher up does the brickwork begin — an unusual combination for Cham architecture. This is explained by the date of construction: at the turn of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries Vijaya spent two decades under Khmer rule, and Angkorian motifs reached the site directly. Excavations in the late 2000s brought a great many sculptural fragments out from under the rubble, and some of them are laid out right on the ground beside the towers, so the carving can be examined at close range. The complex holds the status of a national monument of special importance and stands off the main road, roughly 50 km from Quy Nhon.

On the map