My Son Temple Complex

Duy Xuyen, Quang Nam, Vietnam
4th--13th century
My Son, the royal seat of the Champa kingdom from 300-1200, contains the oldest and largest surviving collection of Champa architecture. The first wooden temple was built at the end of the fourth century during the reign of King Bhadravarman. After the temple burned down in a great fire more than two centuries later, King Sambhuvarman rebuilt it using more durable materials. Each successive Champa dynasty built new temples or restored old ones. More than 70 were built between the fourth and thirteenth centuries, making My Son the kingdom's holiest site. After its abandonment at the end of the thirteenth century, My Son lay largely undisturbed until a U.S. bombing raid in 1969. Two prior Watch listings have prompted some progress in opening the site to visitors and clearing vegetation, which in turn has revealed more temple foundations, inscriptions, and artifacts. Ground water regularly floods the site as the result of a broken dam. A master plan for reconstruction and tourism has been drafted, but the site needs a continuous conservation program to expedite repairs and protect artifacts exposed to the elements.

Listed in 1996 | 1998