The golden land that lit the path to ancient empires
The golden land that lit the path to ancient empires
The remains of a monastery in U Thong reveal local links to global empires 9 Apr 2017 at 04:00
A first look around reveals a landscape that is dry and sparsely vegetated, with few houses around. There is little evidence that visibly betrays the fact that where we're standing is on the remains of an ancient trade and culture centre in the upper Gulf of Thailand.
We travel along a dusty path to Ban Sri Sanphet 3, an archaeological site in Suphan Buri's U Thong district where a mysterious vihara -- a Buddhist monastery -- has been the site of an excavation project since 2015.
In the late 1950s, the Ministry of Culture's Fine Arts Department (FAD) placed the site under its archaeological survey plans based on a small sample of findings.
The vihara remained hidden underground until 2008 when construction work arrived to build an irrigation canal nearby the site. When workers uncovered a pile of old bricks, FAD archaeologists were alerted....
Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/special-reports/1229604/. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved.
