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Our upstairs neighbor, Naho Shimizu, is an archeologist. She and a team of fellow Japanese did the first dig in Vientiane.

Three years ago, just before two main city streets were dug up for a new drainage system, an archeological survey revealed this rune stone.

A few centuries ago, when King Setatthirat moved the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane he built the first city temple. He ordered that the cornerstones of this new wat come from wats in the surrounding villages. The carvings on this stone allowed the team to date construction to the 16th century.