SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

A new book on the Champa sacred site of My Son in Vietnam has been published, featuring the latest research by a number of Vietnamese and international scholars. My Son was a major Cham-Hindu religious centre between the 4th and 13th century and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can pre-order the book here.

Book unveils My Son history
Viet Nam News, 27 November 2008

Read the rest of this entry »

Show on map

The Chief Minister of Malacca has threatened to seek a ‘divorce’ from Penang’s Georgetown under their joint World Heritage listing, after last week’s revelation that some construction works in Georgetown may contravene the guidelines set by UNESCO. While the potential for the World Heritage title to be stripped is real, the controversy and war of words might be just overplayed in the local media and it could all just be simple politicking between the ruling party (under Malacca), against the opposition-controlled Georgetown.

photo credit: nimbu

Go ahead, divorce us, says Penang’s CM
The New Straits Times, 30 November 2008

Malacca unhappy with Penang
The Straits Times, 29 November 2008 

Malacca seeks for a ‘divorce’
The Star, 28 November 2008

M’cca may ‘divorce’ Georgetown over heritage status
The Star, 27 November 2008
Read the rest of this entry »

Introducing Academia.edu, a social networking site that I got to know about last week. The idea is pretty much based on online social networking principles, except instead of superpoking one another you can link up to academics around the world, searching by institution, or research interest. Good for hooking up with peers and finding potential collaborators… or perhaps saying you’re in the same social network as Stephen Hawking.

Another website I discovered on the web last week but haven’t gotten round to properly playing around with is TimeRime, a site that lets you create interactive timelines online easily. As a field focusing on “When” as much as the “Where” and “What”, you can see how this might be a good illustrative tool for presentations, but also in project planning as well. It’s also collaborative, so you can let other people comment or add other points in the timeline.

Read the rest of this entry »

In what seems to be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia, an ancient road has been discovered in the Hoabinhian site of the Xom Trai Cave dating back to 8,000 - 9,000 years. Sadly, the story on VietNamNet doesn’t display any images of the road, but it indicates the presence of worn-out stones. Remains of an older nearby route, possibly related to the road find, dates even further back.

Ancient road found in cave
VietnamNet Bridge, 26 November 2008
Read the rest of this entry »

Show on map

While I’m at the tail end of the World Rock Art course, I’ve also real salad of posts from all Indonesia and Cambodia to feature in this week’s rojak.

photo credit: ideonexus Read the rest of this entry »

Heritage authorities in Vietnam express hope that their bid to include the Thang Long Citadel as a World Heritage Site will be successful be 2010, in time for its 1,000th year anniversary. The royal citadel was said to be in use from the founding of the Ly Dynasty in 1010, which saw the beginning of a unified Vietnam distinct from its previous territorial owners China.

VN calls for recognition of Thang Long Royal Citadel
Viet Nam News, 25 November 2008
Read the rest of this entry »