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ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES |
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TAGAUNG
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"Myanmar
begins with Tagaung" goes a Myanmar saying. It is believed that the
establishment of the Tagaung Dynasty heralded the beginning of Myanmar. A
settlement was established at Tagaung in about the 6th Century BC. Tagaung was
also known as Thindwe. When Tagaung Dynasty was established, there were in
Upper Myanmar Pyu people in the east. Kamyan in the west and Thet in the north,
and Mon in the Ayeyawady, Sittaung and Thanlwin river valleys. Not much
has been discovered of the political, economic and social life of the Tagaung
period. Pyu funerary urns have been found at Tagaung. The Tagaung Dynasty was
probably a Pyu Dynasty as at Tharekhittra. Tagaung stood as an early city-state
of Myanmar.
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BEIKTHANO
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| Beikthano was
earlier than Tharekhittra and Hanlin and was established in about the 1 st
Century AD. It was traditionally called Beikthano and Pan Htwar city. The Pyu
people of Beikthano engaged in agriculture and trade for their livelihood. |
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The people of
Beikthano wore clothes woven of the floss of the letpan (Salmalia malabarica).
They traded in perfumes and spices. They were skilled in architecture. The
economy of Beikthano was based upon agriculture. The state as a social
structure was already established in this period.
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THAREKHITTRA
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Tharekhittra
was a city-state of the Pyu period. The economy was based upon agriculture.
There is evidence that coins were used during this period. Coins of the same
period found in the same place had different characteristics. The handicraft of
the Tharekhittra Pyu had an important role in the production of that period.
Tharekhittra reached the stage of an ancient empire.
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HANLIN
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| Though
Hanlin was situated some distance from Vishnu and Tharekhittra, the layout of
the city, the characteristics of its architecture and art, the design mould of
its coinage, and the artifacts and tools of its people displayed general
similarities. Thus, Hanlin may be assumed to be a Pyu city-state. |
Hanlin was a
significant cultural capital of the Pyu people for nearly 5(30 years from the
4th to the 9th Century AD.
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SUVANABHUMI
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| The centre of the
state of Suvanabhumi has been presumed to be in the vicinity of Bilin Township
and Kelasa Hill in Mon State. The Mon people settled there and established a
royal city. It comprised the valleys of the Sittaung and Thanlwin rivers. It
was also known as Rammanadesa. Researchers say that Suvanabhumi was supposed to
have been established in about 17th Century BC. |
Since Suvanabhumi was
established with a good seaport it became a centre for maritime trade. Gold,
ivory, perfumes, glazed pottery, marble, rhinoceros blood and diverse herbal
medicines were produced. Theravada Buddhism first flourished here along with
traditional beliefs.
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VESALI
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| There
were early human societies along the Rakhine coast. A general study of the
early Rakhine period shows that Vesali was a city-state. It was contemporaneous
with the Pyu city-states of Middle Myanmar. Being situated on the coast,
maritime trade flourished and coinage was widely used in commerce. |
