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The first book in English on this important archaeological
excavation in the heart of Vietnam's capital, now a World Heritage
site. As Vietnam entered the twenty-first century it began to
prepare for the 1000th anniversary of the founding of its capital
Thang Long, now Hanoi. In the heart of the city, a rescue
excavation was launched on land earmarked for the construction of a
new National Assembly building. Archaeologists unearthed thirteen
centuries of vestiges of the ancient city of Thang Long, yielding a
richer record than anyone had dared to hope for. Construction plans
were shelved, excavations widened, and at the city's millennial
celebrations in 2010, UNESCO announced its inscription of the
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long on its World Heritage List. This
archaeological discovery has two histories. The first, told here by
the archaeologists involved, is the story of the dig, which brought
to light the bricks, tiles, pillars, sculptures, and ceramics of
countless ancient temples and palaces. The second is the history of
the citadel itself, in its early years as an outpost of the Chinese
empire, in its heyday as the Forbidden City of Vietnam’s
emperors, and in its downgrading and eventual destruction at the
hands of the Nguyen dynasty and French colonial rulers. Bringing
together history, urban history, and a fascinating story of the
interplay of influences from China and Southeast Asia, this is also
a fascinating case of an Asian capital city coming to understand
its history and deciding how to preserve its archaeological
remains.
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