To mark the bicentenary of the construction of the Long Wall of Quảng Ngãi, the research team from the EFEO and the Institute of Archaeology ask “who built it?” But why such a question? Historical texts clearly indicate that the wall, which extends for 113 km across the province from north to south, was built in 1819 by the mandarin Lê Văn Duyệt on the initiative of the court of Gia Long.
However, a reading of the local landscapes and research conducted in archaeology, anthropology and cartography carried out over the past decade lead to a different conclusion: the wall was built after a process of negotiation between Lê Văn Duyệt and the chiefs of the Hrê ethnic group in the province’s mountainous hinterland, and the construction work relied on technology and labour contributed by both communities.
Andrew Hardy (historian) and Nguyễn Tiến Đông (archaeologist) present the results of interdisciplinary research on the history of this monument in this lecture at the French Institute in Hanoi – L’Espace.

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