Memory of Oc Eo ancient city and Funan Kingdom in light of recent archaeological discoveries

Oc Eo is a well-known archaeological culture in southern Vietnam, associated with the history of the Kingdom of Funan, which is a component of Vietnam's national history. In 2015, the Vietnamese government tasked the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences with coordinating the implementation of the "Research on the archaeological sites of Oc Eo – Ba The, Nen Chua (Oc Eo Culture in Southern Region)" project. This is the most extensive scientific project that has ever been conducted in Vietnam regarding the investigation of Oc Eo culture. Three leading units in the field of archaeology participated in this project: the Institute of Imperial Citadel Studies, the Institute of Archaeology, and the Institute of Social Sciences in the Southern region. The primary objective of the Project is to excavate and study the remains of the Oc Eo culture at the sites in Oc Eo – Ba The (Thoai Son district, An Giang province) and the Nen Chua (Hon Dat district, Kien Giang province) in order to collect data and clarify the history of the formation and development of the Oc Eo culture, as well as to investigate the position, function, and significance of the ancient city of Oc Eo.

After nearly four years of the project, many significant new results and vivid evidence of the formation and brilliant development of the Oc Eo culture from the first century CE to the eighth century CE have been obtained. This article will publish for the first time the results of new research on the ancient city of Ok Eo and the kingdom of Funan, based on the 2017-2020 archaeological excavations and surveys at the Oс Eo - Ba The and Nen Chua sites.