Archaeologists have affirmed that the two newly-found sets of stone percussion instrument in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong date back between 2,500-3,000 years.
On May 27, Vice Director of the Lam Dong Museum Doan Thi Ngo also said the two sets of lithophone, comprising a total of 53 stone slabs, discovered in Hoa Nam and Lien Dam communes in Di Linh District, have the largest number of stone slabs so far in the province.
The Hoa Nam lithophone consists of 30 slabs but only 18 remain intact while 12 others have been partly broken. The Lien Dam lithophone has 23 pieces, and only 4 are broken.
According to archaeologists, the new sets of lithophone share similarities in the type of used stone and also the shaping technique to make slabs strike notes when playing.
They also share similarities in the arrangement of slabs with those found in Dinh La and Son Dien communes, also in Di Linh District, which were made public in late 2007.
The discovery helped bring the total sets of lithophone discovered in the locality to five over the past 30 years.
Ngo said the finding proves that Lam Dong is a cradle of lithophone and a lot of amazing and mysterious things may be still buried under its soil waiting to be discovered.