Project Activities
Main activities of the project include:
- Research on material characteristics and building techniques of the ancient Cham builders
- Archaeological investigation: preventive non-invasive survey, archaeological excavations, dating, GIS cataloguing
- Training in the application of international standards of conservation
- Formulation of a strategy for the revision of the Conservation Masterplan of My Son
- Archaeological investigation and excavation of E7 Monument
Pursuant to this tripartite project on “Investigation, Zoning and Management of My Son Monument and Archaeological Site”, the Government of Viet Nam expressed its wish to realize a new project devoted to the safeguarding of selected monuments in My Son by restoring a high-priority group of Cham monuments.
To this end, UNESCO, the Italian Government through the Lerici Foundation, and the Vietnamese Ministry of Culture and Information formulated the project entitled “Safeguarding My Son World Heritage Site: Demonstration and Training in the Application of International Standard of conservation at My Son G Monuments”.
After careful analysis of the structural, scientific and technical conditions of the different groups of monuments in My Son, the Group G monuments were selected for the following reasons:
- G Group lies on an elevated area never affected by seasonal flooding
- G Group has never been restored (some minor interventions were done on the monuments by H. Parmentier in 1903-1904)
- G Group is a clear model how a Cham sacred area is organized
- G Group has considerable importance from the archaeological point of view.
Financed by the Italian Government, the My Son project (2002-2005) was focused on intensive on-site training of Vietnamese counterpart staff in conservation work and site management and maintenance.
The International Implementing Agency which provided technical expertise in the implementation of the project is the Fondazione Ing. Carlo Maurilio Lerici (Lerici Foundation) of the Polytechnic University of Milan, Via Vittorio Veneto 108 - 00187 Rome, Italy.
