Setapura Ancient City was built and occupied from the 5th through to the 7th century and is believed to have been a capital of the early Khmer kingdom of Upper Chenla. Setapura (literally ‘city of King Setavarman’) is named for the founder of the first ruling dynasty of Upper Chenla. It was originally surrounded on three sides by a rectangular, double earthen wall, measuring approximately 2.4 kilometres by 1.8 kilometres; this wall was about 14 metres wide at the base and very tall - some sections of the wall measuring 6 metres high can still be seen today. However, much of the north side of the wall has been eroded by the Huay Sahoua, while the eastern side has been washed away by the Mekong River. Setapura and its twin city of Lingapura could be considered 'lost cities', because they were known only from inscriptions and literary evidence until recent archaeological survey work rediscovered them. Today, both cities are almost completely buried under rice fields and villages, except for the lumps in the plain which cover the remains of temples, ponds, barays or other brick structures. These sites are very significant because they represent some of the earliest known and studied urban sites in South East Asia