Several Vietnamese people are preserving fossil items which are said to be worth millions of USD.

Elephant's tusk fossil

Recently, Nguyen Truong Son, a resident in Pleiku, Gia Lai Province, became the talk of the neighbourhood after it was made known that he's the owner of a valuable fossilised elephant's tusk.

Though the tusk was broken into four piece, it's still worth USD2 million. The tusk weights 24kg and is about 1.26 meters long. However, the Institute of Archeology said the original tusk, which dated back to 19,450 BC, may be around 1.60 meters long.

Many people have asked Son to sell them the tusk. "A foreign businessmen proposed to pay me USD2 million but I refused them all. I want to find the rest of the tusk and then do some detailed research on it." Son said.

Fossil plant

Hoang Van Ngoc, from Trang Village in Thanh Hoa Province,  found a fossilised tree over 13 years ago in a cave. According to Ngoc, the tree was huge but it was broken into many pieces when they tried to separate it from the cave wall.  Ngoc collected all the fallen branches and glued them together.

Ngoc said he was offered USD3 million for the discovery. "Had I sold it, our country would lose this unique tree and that is not my wish. At that time, I was scared that some desperate people might kill me and take the tree." he said.

Fossil wood

On May 1, many people flocked to the house of Tra Van Duong in Xuan Trung Village, Phu Yen Province, to see the a fossilised section of tree trunk. The trunk is 1.2 metres tall with a diameter of 50 cm.

According to Duong, he found the trunk while farming. After news about a fossilised tree trunk spread, Duong received many offers but he has no intention to sell as yet.

Fossil mammoth teeth

The owner of the teeth is Nguyen Duc Chinh from Ha Dong District in Hanoi. The total weight of the teeth is 7-8kg and is estimated to be 17,000 years old.

In 2002, Chinh visited a friend's house and was immediately enchanted by the fossil. With determination, Chinh bought the teeth at the price of USD10,000.

Chinh said, "My friend tried to talk me out of it but I felt as if my soul was enchanted. I just knew that I must have it." Several people wanted to buy and appraise the fossil but Chinh refused. Visitors are welcome to go and have a look.

Fossil elephant teeth

Recently, a group of young people discovered ancient elephant teeth that are said to be thousands of  years old, in Mang Ta Be Village, Son Bua Commune of Quang Ngai Province.

These teeth look the most like elephant teeth compared with other fossilised teeth. The teeth have been on display for visitors in Son Bua Commune.