Archive of news reports related to the archaeology and heritage of Vietnam, the easternmost country of Mainland Southeast Asia, sharing a border with China, Laos and Cambodia. Vietnam is known for the Dong Son culture, who created bronze drums that have been found across Southeast Asia. For most of its history, the country now known as Vietnam was made of two regions: northern Vietnam was largely under Chinese rule, while the Cham kingdoms in the south were a collection of independent Indic polities located along the coastline. Vietnam is home to many Unesco World Heritage Sites, six of which are cultural: Hue, Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary, Thang Long Citadel, Ho Citadel and the Trang An Landscape Complex (a mixed natural and cultural site).
In this page:
- Recommended Books
- Most Popular Vietnamese Archaeology Posts
- Image Gallery
- Vietnamese Archaeology News Archive
- Links to Vietnamese Archaeology Websites
This page covers the archaeology of Vietnam as a whole, and you can find more details about the other countries in their respective pages or explore the Resource Guide for thematic areas. There’s also the Virtual Archaeology page where you can visit Southeast Asian archaeological sites online, learn something from the Online Lecture Library, or find recent academic papers for more up-to-date research.
Recommended by Amazon
There are a number of books relevant to the archaeology and history of Vietnam, and the list below is my personal recommendation based on what I have in my library or have read, and easily available. There are some local-language publications that are not available in the internet, and newer books are higher up on the list. Some of these links are affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you click on them and make a purchase. For other sources of reliable academic information, you should also check out the books page for latest releases and the occassional free book, as well as the journals page for the latest scientific research.
- *new* Viet Nam: A History from Earliest Times to the Present by Ben Kiernan
- The Origins of Ancient Vietnam (Oxford Studies in the Archaeology of Ancient States) by Nam C. Kim
- Vibrancy in Stone: Masterpieces of the Danang Museum of Cham Sculpture by Peter D. Sharrock and Vo Van Thang
- Old Citadels of Viet Nam by The Gioi Publishers
- The People between the Rivers: The Rise and Fall of a Bronze Drum Culture, 200–750 CE by Catherine Churchman
- The Nguyen Dynasty: Stories of the Lords and Emperors of the Nguyen Family (16th-20th Centuries) by Bui Huong Giang (Ed.)
- Ancient China and the Yue: Perceptions and Identities on the Southern Frontier, c.400 BCE–50 CE by Erica Fox Brindley
- Royal Hue by Vu Hong Lien
- A Brief Chronology of Vietnamese History Paperback by Ha Van Thu and Tran Hong Duc
- Vestiges of Champa Civilization by Tran Ky Phu’o’ng
- Ancient Vietnam: History, Art and Archaeology by Anne-Valerie Schweyer
- Champa and the archaeology of My Son (Vietnam) by Andrew Hardy, Mauro Cucarzi and Patrizia Zolese
- Dong Son Drums in Viet Nam
Most Popular Vietnamese Archaeology Posts
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Traces of early humans found in Ninh Binh
via Vietnam Plus, 26 March 2021: Archaeologists investigate a cave in northern Vietnam that was used by people in the...
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Image Gallery
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For more images, check out and follow Southeast Asian Archaeology on Instagram.
Vietnam Archaeology News Archive
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The news reports indexed below usually link to external sites that were active at the time of posting; sometimes websites may be temporarily down or may have reorganised their underlying architecture or have even closed down – in these cases the links may not be available. Most of the news articles archived are in English; this is largely because I do not have a working competency in Vietnamese, although when I am made aware of stories in this and other languages I try to index them.
Looking for something specific? You can also use this search box:
Links to Vietnamese Archaeology Sites
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These are links to external sites and unless stated, I have no connection with the organisations or entities in these links or control over their content. They are sorted alphabetically, but you should also explore the Resources page which have links sorted by themes. If you have a link to suggest, please get in touch!
- Cham Studies – Website was established for the purpose of gaining a deeper and more refined understanding of the civilization of Champa and the Cham people.
- France-Vietnam des patrimoines partagés en ligne – Online repository of shared French and Vietnamese documentary heritage, a collaboration between the National Libraries of France and Vietnam.
- SUNDASIA – Project exploring how prehistoric tropical communities adapted to cycles of coastal inundation over the last 60,000 years in northern Vietnam, and how these data can help inform models and responses to modern climate-induced rising seas in this region.
- Vietnam Archaeology and Cultural Heritage – Website run by Alex Giang.
- Vietnam Institute of Archaeology – Viện khảo cổ học is the national research institution under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.
- Vietnam Maritime Archeology Project – To promote Underwater Cultural Heritage and Maritime Archeology in Vietnam. Facebook page.
- Vietnam National Museum of History (Hanoi) – The Vietnam National Museum of History is a public service unit under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, which is at the forefront of the system of Vietnam’s history-society museums.
- Vietnam National Museum of History (Ho Chi Minh City) – The southern branch of the Vietnam National Museum of History in Ho Chi Minh City.
- Viet Nam prehistory – A quick and pictorial overview of the prehistory of Viet Nam.
