Banh It Towers (built c. 11th century)

 

Banh It Towers (built c. 11th century)

The four surviving towers in this group were probably built towards the end of the 11th Century. The main tower and the adjacent repository are at the very summit of a hill overlooking the Highway 1, the town of Binh Dinh, and a river (identified by Tran Ky Phuong as a major arm of the Con River). Two smaller towers are situated at lower levels on the hill, to the south and east of the main tower.

At the time of these photographs (March 2004) the main tower was surrounded by scaffolding, with much fresh replacement brickwork in evidence. The neighboring tower shows a fair amount of replacement work, but also much that has been left in a rough state.
Several fine bas-reliefs of dancers from Banh It are now displayed in the Cham Museum in Da Nang. Ngo Van Doanh states that one of the major works of Banh It, a statue of Siva, was removed by the French to the Trocadero Museum around 1884-86, and is now part of the Guimet collection.