Óc Eo

Óc Eo (French, from Khmer: អូរកែវ, O Keo, "Glass Canal") is an archaeological site in Thoại Sơn District in southern An Giang Province, Vietnam, in the Mekong River Delta. It is also one of the modern day communes of Vietnam. Óc Eo may have been a busy port of the kingdom of Funan between the 1st and 7th centuries. Scholars use the term "Óc Eo Culture" to refer to the ancient material culture of the Mekong Delta region that is typified by the artifacts recovered at Óc Eo through archeological investigation.

The Archeological Site

Excavation at Óc Eo began on February 10, 1942, after French archaeologists had discovered the site through the use of aerial photography. The first excavations were led by Louis Malleret. The site covers 450 ha.

Óc Eo is situated within a network of ancient canals that crisscross the low flatland of the Mekong Delta. One of the canals connects Óc Eo to the town's seaport while another goes 42 miles north-northeast to Angkor Borei. Óc Eo is longitudinally bisected by a canal, and there are four transverse canals along which pile-supported houses were perhaps ranged.