ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
Thailand’seventful past is reflected in a variety of historic sites located in almost
 every part of the country-more than enough to fill several itineraries
for visitors with a special interest in archaeology. The majority have
museums where artefacts discovered in the area are exhibited.
Among the very oldest is
Ban Ching in the northeastern province
of Udon Tharii. Here, more than 3,000 years before Christ, a mysterious
culture rose, fiourished, and vanished in the early centuries of the Chistian
era; excavations by the Fine Arts Departiqpnt have found evidence of agriculture
going back to 4000 B.C., as well as magnificent painted pottery and what
many experts believe may be the world’s earliest bronze. One of the Ban
Chiang excavations has been left open for visitors, showing the levels
at which the various objects were found. The northeast
also has several Khmer ruins of major archaeological interest, perhaps
the hest known beingPrasat Phaeom Rung
a historical park in Buri Ram and Prasat
Hin Phimai in Nakhon Ratchasima (Khorat), both of which
were outposts of the Angkorian Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries A.D.
Well worth an extended visit is Stckhothai
the first truly independent Thai capital, founded in the early 13th
century in the north-central part of the country. Both Sukhothai and the
satellite city of Si Satchaealaf,
38 kilometres away, are historical parks and are filled with impressive
ruins of temples that reveal the early flowering of distinctive Thai styles
 of art and architecture.
Ayutthaya,
which ruled the kingdom for more than 400 years, is another historical
park located in the central region on the Chao Phraya River, within easy
distance of Bangkok by road or river. Here, too, magnificent old temples
and palaces cover a large area, requiring several days for a really thorough
exploration. Not far away is Lop Buri, formerly a Khmer city but
later a summer capital for Ayutthaya kings, where some of the ruins show
early European influence.
Northern Thailand was long ruled by
a series of semi-independent principalities and also contains several interesting
historical sites, particularly in Chiang Saen on the Mekong River,
where a number of structures predate those of Sukhothai; Lampang,
around which one can visit many ancient temples in various styles; and
Nan, where some of the religious complex date from the 15th century.
To the south of Bangkok, about two
hours by car, lies the old town ofPhetchaburi; here there are both Thai
and Khmer ruins, as well as several spectacular caves used for worship;
of special interest is Wat Yai Suwannaram, containing some of the oldest
Thai mural paintings that survive, and Wat Kamphaeng Lang, a well-preserved
Khmer temple. Ban Chiang,
Ayutthaya, and Sukhothai have been designated as World Heritage Sites by
UNESCO.
Select province museum
 1. Chao Sam Phraya National Museum
Amphoe Muang, Ayutthaya Tel: (035)
241-587.
2. Ramldmnhaeng National Museum
Sukhothai Historical Park, AmphoeMuang, Sukhothai
Tel: (055) 612-167
3. Khon Kaen National Museum
Amphoe Muang, Khon Kaen Tel: (043) 236-741
4. Phimai National Museum
Amphoe Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima Tel:(044) 471-167
5. Songkhla National Museum
Wat Machimawat, Amphoe Muang, SongkhlaNT>
TeL (074) 311-728
6. Chiang Saen National Museum
Amphoe Chiangsaen, Chiang Rai Tel (053) 777-032
7. Ayutthaya History Study Centre
Amphoe Phra iVakhon Si Ayutthaya Tel: (035) 251-586
8. Ubon Ratchathaoi National Museum
Amphoe Muang, Ubon Ratchathani TeL (044) 245-071
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