Cat Tien Shiva Sanctuary, Vietnam

Address

Cat Tien Shiva Sanctuary, Quãng Ngãi, Cát Tiên, Lâm Đồng, Vietnam

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

CátTiên is a archaeological site or Cát Tiên Shiva Sanctuary is an archaeological site located between the two sectors of Cát Tiên National Park, Cát Tiên District, Lâm Đồng Province, southern Central Highlands. A big shiva Lingam was Accidentally discovered in 1985, the site has been subjected to debate among historians about its origin. The highly Indianite civilization which developed this site inhabited it between the 4th century and 9th centuries AD. The hill temple 1A of Cát Tiên features the largest stone lingam ever found in Southeast Asia. Discovered in 1985, the site is said to be the Holy Land of the Brahmin religion dating back to the 4th – 8th century AD. It covers an area of hundreds of hectares and stretches about 15km along the Dong Nai River. The site consists of temple towers dating back to the 7th or 8th century AD. Archaeologists, however, found that most of its surface architecture has been damaged. Only some traces of the 3m-high tiled wall still remain. The sanctuary had been excavated eight times until 2006. Archeologists found a ruined structure, including towers, temples, tombs, and thousands of artifacts made of gold, silver, bronze, steel, and pottery of the Brahmin sect. With the finds, the holy land is believed to be reserved for religious sites in the 4th to 9th centuries. Its owners are said to be under the influence of the Indian culture and closely linked to the contemporary Oc Eo and Champa civilizations. The sanctuary is suitable for spiritual cultural.