Two lead bullets discovered by workers at the Semtokha dzong conservation project recently has led some Bhutanese to believe that they may have been used in the attack that the dzong came under hundreds of years ago.

The bullets were found embedded in the wooden beams and some believe there could be more.

“It’s very difficult to say when exactly the bullets were used, but this is historical evidence of how old the dzong is,� said culture secretary, Dasho Sangay Wangchuk.

According to the dzong’s nyip (store master), lopen Kuenzang, the dzong was 378 years old. “The dzong was attacked twice by the Tibetans,� he said, adding that the bullets could have been used at the time.

Lead bullets, elderly Semtokha people said, were used during the ancient battles in the form of mendha (gun used during the olden days).

Wangta, 77, from Thimphu, said that the mendha varied in shape and size. Zay (gun powder) was stuffed in the mendha and the pochu was placed on the trigger. While firing, the sparks produced from the pochu touched the zay and the bullet was released.

“The usage of mendha was time consuming, so most of the time they used daggers as their weapons,� said Wangta.

“The lead was melted and poured between two slabs of doka (white stones) till it cooled down after which it was used as bullets,� added Wangta.

Semtokha Dzong is the oldest monastic fortress, which was built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.

The bullets, according to officials, will be displayed in the basement which will house the museum. Source: Kuenselonline