Abstract

This study focuses on analyzing the system of water conveyance and storage architecture in the urban center of Óc Eo (Vietnam) in comparison with the ancient cities of Mohenjo-daro (Pakistan) and Varanasi (India). The article aims to clarify the differences in the ways water was exploited and utilized, as well as how human communities adapted to natural conditions during the first seven centuries CE in southern Vietnam. The research results indicate that in Óc Eo there was a clear distinction between domestic water and sacred water. While the network of canals functioned as a form of “transportation system” facilitating trade and connecting communities, the stepped wells discovered at Gò Cây Me, Nền Chùa, and Giồng Cát appear to have had a highly symbolic character closely associated with temple spaces. Ultimately, water played a dual role: it served both as a material resource sustaining the economy and as a symbolic instrument for constructing social power. In particular, at Óc Eo, the adoption and localization of Indian models of water architecture demonstrate a distinctive synthesis between imported religious beliefs and local practices within a riverine environment. These conclusions open up new approaches for studying ancient urban centers in southern Vietnam and Southeast Asia from a geo-cultural perspective.