ROCK FIELD

It bears witness to the very ancient occupation of the region. More than 200 engraved and sculpted rocks are scattered in the rice fields. They also contain inscriptions that researchers have not yet deciphered. This is the task of P. Le Failler, historian and researcher at the École française d'Extrême-Orient (Efeo), who has been working on this enigma for several years. According to P. Le Failler, "known since 1925, the enigmatic petroglyphs of Sapa, in the province of Lao-Cai, show original models of cartography on stone. Though devoid of writing, the engravers have nevertheless left us a fine description of their world. The networks of rice terraces carved into the rock, the interlacing of hydraulic installations or the representation of villages allow the study of their morphology and provide information on the evolution of human settlements in the high valleys. The Efeo has carried out a census, which was essential due to acts of vandalism that have damaged many of the inscriptions. The coordinates of the stones were recorded by GPS, and each inscription was stamped for digitisation. Local people have always known about the stones, but are unable to explain their origin. Some inscriptions are sinister but unknown; others use an unidentified alphabet. The region has experienced significant migration to such an extent that local memory has lost the memory of those who were there only two hundred years ago.