Vietnamese and French archeologists to cooperate on joint project

The Viet Nam Institute of Archaeology has joined forces with the National Guimet Museum of Asian Arts of France, Nhan Dan reported on Friday. Thousands of Vietnamese artifacts were donated to the Guimet Museum following the death of historian Henri Maspero. The two institutions are working together to determine the age and significance of the artifacts, which include tiles, bricks, ceramic, porcelain, and steel objects. In addition to those artifacts found in Viet Nam, the archaeologists at the two museums will also be examining other objects from Maspero that were collected in China, Egypt, and Sri Lanka in hopes of discovering more about the trade patterns of the Vietnamese, especially with Middle Eastern countries, between the 13th and 15th centuries. The two institutions hope to publish a joint report on their findings in 2009.

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