Japan supports preservation of former Imperial Citadel’s precious relics

The Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties of Japan will develop new techniques to preserve valuable wooden relics in Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

Visitors looking at the relics in Thang Long Imperial Citadel.
Photo: Doan Tan/VNA

The institute will cooperate with Kyoto University and other research institutes to develop new chemicals to conserve the relics, provided that they are suitable to Vietnam’s weather conditions.

This month, the institute and Kyoto University expect to conduct a survey on the condition of artifacts and their storage in Vietnamese museums.

The Nara Institute and partners will also open a work office at Vietnam Forestry University to study characteristics of ancient trees, evaluate the effectiveness of preservatives and examine methods for drying timber.

Thousands of rare relics such as pillars, boats, and lacquer paintings were unearthed in 2002 in the world heritage Thang Long Imperial Citadel. However, due to poor conservation, many of them have been damaged during the display and storage.