Oc Eo - Ba The on the Road to World Heritage Site - Part 1: From the Foot of Ba The Mountain to the Big Moment

In the western fields of An Giang, from the foot of Ba Thê mountain, traces of an ancient city and port city silently remain through canals, brick foundations, and artifacts, telling the story of transcontinental trade nearly two millennia ago. Today, that archaeological past faces a decisive moment as the nomination dossier for World Heritage status enters its final stages, with the official submission deadline being January 30, 2026. Everything from surveying, demarcation, legal mapping, management plans, to community consensus becomes a test of heritage management capacity. The series "Oc Eo - Ba Thê on the Road to World Heritage" is therefore undertaken as a journalistic journey from the field to the behind-the-scenes of the UNESCO dossier, from outstanding global value to conservation challenges in contemporary life, to clearly show one thing: Heritage does not automatically go out into the world.

At the foot of Ba Thê mountain are residential areas and rice fields. Photo: DUC BINH

In Óc Eo - Ba Thê, the heritage lies right beneath the plowshare and in the memories of the roadside vendors. The journey to the world therefore begins with very small things: identifying a pottery shard, preserving a paving stone, respecting a boundary line. Everything is converging on 17:00 GMT on January 30, 2026, the deadline for submitting the UNESCO application.

The morning in Ba Thê, Óc Eo commune, usually begins with the wind blowing from the fields and the sound of motorbikes gliding along the small road leading to the historical site. I arrived when the rice paddies were still wet, dew clinging to the grass, and the farmers were already there, chatting about the harvest and rice prices. The sign "Special National Monument" appeared as a reminder that this land carries a larger mission than the rhythm of daily life. Stepping into the exhibition area, I looked at the artifacts lying silently in glass cases: pottery fragments, beads, architectural decorative pieces, and traces of the ancient inhabitants' craftsmanship. Visitors might glance over them because they are unpretentious, but for professionals, they represent a whole timeline, as each artifact has its own age, discovery context, and scientific story, being gathered and verified to transform into an argument powerful enough to convince the world.

Heritage in the eyes of today's people.

Mr. Pham Van Tung, Deputy Head of the Professional and Museum Department of the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board, received me in his office. Although Mr. Tung is from outside the region, he has been associated with the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board for many years and understands the work very well. He explained that the process of preparing the UNESCO dossier requires specific steps including: surveying the current state, delineating the protected area, creating maps according to standards, updating legal documents, and marking the boundaries on the ground. He emphasized that all numbers and boundaries must have clear evidence, because UNESCO evaluates based on evidence and management capacity, not on emotions.

I asked him what worried him most during the preparation process. He replied that the most difficult thing was protecting the site in an area closely connected to the lives of the local population and agricultural production. He explained that a piece of pottery, a fragment of stone, or a wooden stake exposed during plowing could be an archaeological artifact. If the artifact is removed or if the site's foundation is disturbed, the scientific information will be lost. When information is lost, the argument for its value weakens, and the ability to prove its authenticity is jeopardized.

I left my workplace and stopped at a small tea shop near the road leading to the historical site. The owner, a local woman, told me that in the past, many people couldn't distinguish between "antiques" and "discarded items," so sometimes they would use broken pottery pieces as table leg supports or throw them in a corner of the garden. In recent years, with clearer information and guidance, people usually report any strange objects they find to the authorities or the management board. According to her, many people are now proud that their hometown has a famous historical site, so they don't do anything that would tarnish the site's image in the eyes of tourists.

The brief conversation at the coffee shop gave me a very real feeling. UNESCO dossiers may be written in meeting rooms, but the durability of the dossier lies in how the community behaves on that very land. When people know how to stop before a small trace, the heritage gains an extra layer of protection. When people are indifferent, all planning becomes fragile.

Artifacts from the Oc Eo culture are displayed at the Oc Eo Cultural Exhibition House in Oc Eo commune. Photo: Duc Binh

The historical landmark and footprint of Malleret

Oc Eo - Ba The is considered by researchers to be a typical center of the Oc Eo culture, associated with the Funan kingdom that existed from approximately the 1st to the 7th centuries AD. Archaeological discoveries over several decades have revealed a rich system of relics here, including: traces of settlements, religious architecture, burial sites, traces of handicraft production, and infrastructure components related to ancient urban life. The remains of ramparts and canals help researchers visualize an organized, planned living space with a network of waterways.

The name "Óc Eo" is associated with excavations conducted by the French archaeologist Louis Malleret in 1944. From these initial discoveries, Óc Eo became a familiar archaeological site in the study of ancient Southern Vietnam. Subsequent surveys and excavations continued to supplement data, further clarifying the appearance of a once bustling center in the regional trade network.

However, entering the UNESCO arena goes beyond simply recounting the history or the story of the discovery. UNESCO demands a comprehensive argument for "outstanding universal value," accompanied by clear evidence of the attributes that constitute that value. UNESCO also requires an effective protection and management mechanism, as the title of World Heritage site is always associated with long-term responsibility for preservation and promotion. Therefore, the most important question at this moment is not what Oc Eo - Ba The possesses, but how Oc Eo - Ba The will demonstrate that value and what mechanisms the local authorities will use to protect it.

From the foot of Ba Thê mountain in Óc Eo commune, traces of an ancient city and port still quietly remain. (Photo: Ba Thê mountain. Photo: VIỆT TIẾN)

The dossier submitted to UNESCO is now in the final stages.

The key point of today's story lies in the timeline clearly stated by UNESCO: The World Heritage Centre has conducted a technical review of the draft dossier for the Oc Eo - Ba The archaeological site, a step to help the country finalize the dossier in accordance with the guidelines for implementing the World Heritage Convention. This is not yet a conclusion on whether the dossier is complete, but it shows that the dossier has reached the stage where it needs to be "detailed" and is ready for official submission. UNESCO also set the deadline for submission as 5 PM GMT on January 30, 2026, and noted that the dossier will only be considered submitted when the Secretariat receives all the required paper copies. Progress cannot be measured by intuition but must be divided into a specific schedule from content completion, domestic assessment, translation, printing, to transportation.

According to Nguyen Khac Nguyen, Deputy Director of the Oc Eo Cultural Relics Management Board, the Board is implementing many activities to improve the quality of the dossier and ensure it adheres to UNESCO standards. The province organized an international scientific workshop on July 30, 2025, to consult on outstanding universal value and nomination criteria. The Management Board also organized a workshop to provide feedback on the draft dossier and management plan on September 4, 2025. On November 24, 2025, the third scientific conference in Hanoi will continue to provide in-depth feedback on the dossier and management plan before finalization. “Expert feedback focused on core issues including: how to convincingly express outstanding global value, how to clarify nomination criteria, consistency in technical terminology, accuracy of the mapping system, boundaries between core and buffer zones, and the feasibility of the management plan. These comments showed that the dossier could not simply be ‘correct in meaning’ but had to meet the standards of ‘correct framework’ and ‘correct evidence’,” said Mr. Nguyen Khac Nguyen.

In late November 2025, while accompanying the delegation on a study tour to Quang Ninh, we learned the most important lesson: the dossier must be concise, clear, and written according to UNESCO guidelines; the map must have legal validity; the management plan must outline the coordination mechanism and the role of the community; and the process of receiving the field assessment team requires a detailed plan, from marking easily identifiable boundaries to displaying and explaining information so that experts and international visitors understand it immediately on-site. These seemingly purely technical tasks are actually "conditions for the exam," because UNESCO assesses based on outstanding universal value, integrity, authenticity, and the capacity for protection and management; weak mechanisms lead to weak commitments, and a lack of community consensus creates risks on-site. Therefore, in the current final push, the province must simultaneously do two things: complete the dossier documents and strengthen the field conditions so that all commitments can be verified on-site.

The midday sun in Ba Thê is usually scorching, and the locals return to their familiar rhythms of life. However, for those working on the UNESCO dossier, each day holds a specific milestone. From the "Special National Monument" plaque to the thick stack of documents on their desks, everything converges on one key message: Heritage doesn't go out into the world on its own; it needs the hands and discipline of today.

Key timeline

- In 2012: The Oc Eo - Ba The historical site was classified as a special national historical site.

- November 14, 2025: UNESCO sent a response letter containing comments following a technical review of the draft document.

- January 30, 2026: The deadline for submitting official applications is 17:00 GMT. Applications are considered submitted when the Secretariat receives the hard copy.

- 2026: The field assessment phase is expected to begin.

- 2027: The phase of reviewing and defending the dossier at UNESCO is expected to begin.

(To be continued)

VIET TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/oc-eo-ba-the-tren-chang-duong-den-di-san-the-gioi-bai-1-tu-chan-nui-ba-the-den-gio-g-a473232.html