The Vietnam Institute of Archaeology reported that it has found a number of artifacts dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago, off central Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa Province, which help affirm the country’s sovereignty over the islands.

The institute said at a conference on Monday that its excavation, which began in late June, was conducted on several islets, including Truong Sa Lon, Nam Yet, Phan Vinh, and Son Ca.

The findings from comprehensive surveys and excavation of the islets include four raw ceramic pieces– which belonged to prehistoric times – broken bowls and dozens of terracotta fragments dating back to the 18th and 19th centuries.

The new findings help consolidate those from previous excavations conducted in 1993, 1994, and 1999.

They also serve as concrete evidence that Vietnamese people in prehistoric times owned the archipelago, and have fished in the seas around it ever since.

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