Cổ Loa citadel
Ciudadela de Cổ Loa
- Date
- c. century III a.C. · confidence low
- Place
- Cổ Loa, Đông Anh, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Credited to
- Âu Lạc kingdom (tradition: Thục Phán, An Dương Vương)
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An enclosure with three concentric earthen ramparts and moats linked to the river, regarded as Vietnam's first fortified capital. Thousands of three-bladed bronze arrowheads and casting moulds have been found.
The founding in 257 BC by Thục Phán is legendary tradition; archaeology places the construction of the ramparts between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, with earlier occupation.
What it led to
- a model of fortified river capital in the Red River delta
- mass production of standardised bronze arrowheads
- the epic tradition of the magic crossbow and the fall of Âu Lạc to Zhao Tuo