The French archaeological mission and Vat Phou : Research on an exceptional historic site in Laos

Résumé En

The Vat Phou complex [fig. 1] is located in Champasak Province in Southern Laos on the right bank of the Mekong River, 100 km north of the Khone waterfalls which mark the border with Cambodia. It stretches to a sacred mountain, the tip of which has a remarkable shape, identified in antiquity as a liṅga, hence the ancient Sanskrit name Liṅgaparvata, meaning "Liṅga Mountain". The existence of a permanent spring flowing from one of the cliffs most certainly inspired the first hinduised sovereigns to build a Shivaite shrine on the site. The most ancient structures were progressively replaced by a monumental religious complex in the classic Khmer style (11 th-13 th century), built on the hillside [fig. 2]. The pre-Angkorian (5 th-7 th century) City is in the plain, 5 km to the east on the banks of the Mekong, the ruins of which are mostly visible on aerial photographs. The ancient road connecting Vat Phou to Angkor region is singularly recognizable. fig. 1: Vat Phou Archaeological area, as seen from the south (drawing P. Pichard) * Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS); Director of the French Archaeological Mission in south Laos until 2015. ** École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO); Director of the French Archaeological Mission in south Laos since 2015.