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PRESERVATION OF ANCIENT CULTURAL |
| Myanmar abounds in
ancient cultural heritage such as ancient cities, cultural heritage, religious
edifices and structures. Areas prominent for the proliferation of such cultural
heritage are Pyay, Bagan, Bago, Shwebo, Mandalay, Innwa and Sagaing |
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Pyu Cultural Heritage [1St to 10th Century AD]
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Structures such as city walls, gates, religious,
structures or those representing ancient culture and residences were found in
the excavations of ancient Beikthano Hanlin Tharekhittra and Mengmau cities.
Among the ancient Pyu cities, a high standard of architecture was found in the
Bawbawgyi Zedi, the Phayagyi Zedi, Phayamar Zedi the Bebe Cave Pagoda, and the
Laymyethna Cave Pagodas, among others, which had remained intact. |
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Ragan Cultural Heritage [10th to 13th Century AD]
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| Altogether 2230 ancient
Zedis, caves and other edifices existed, many of them showing signs of decay
due to the elements, and earthquakes and many had crumbled These have been
restored to their original design, style and grandeur, with public donations
and government contributions. |
| Not only have
the ancient Bagan edifices which had reached the pinnacle of fame in the 13th
Century AD been restored, but the floral designs and the frescoes in them have
been properly maintained. |
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Bagan Ancient Cultural Museum
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The ancient stone inscriptions, stone Buddha statues,
earthen utensils, bronze, stone and wooden objects found in ancient Bagan,
worthy of being collectively displayed and preserved are now housed in the
Ancient Bagan Cultural Museum, construction of which started in 1995. |
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Ancient Cultural Heritage in Bago [Early AD to 16th Century]
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| In Bago,
there are the ancient Oktha City and the ancient Hanthawaddy City. It is
chronicled in history that ancient Oktha City was established as the Mon
Capital around 1st Century AD. |
| Ancient Hanthawaddy
city was built by King Bayintnaung in 16th century AD. |
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The ancient historic pagodas in Bago are the famous
Shwemawdaw, Shwe- Maha Zedi, Kyaikpun, Shwegugyi, and Hinthagon pagodas, and
others. |
| The Kanbawzathadi Palace
built by King Bayint Naung in ancient Hanthawady City, was razed and had thus
remained. However, under the scheme for excavating palace locations in 1991,
the Bamayathana Chamber (Royal Bedroom), the audience hall, the left wing and
right wing and the Samok-hsaung have been built anew. The Bamayarthana Chamber
has been fully completed, and the rest are expected to be completed soon. |
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Shwebon Yadana Mingala Palace, Shwebo (18th Century AD)
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| Shwebo is the city where
Alaungmintaya established the Konbaung Dynasty, the last in Myanmar Naing-Ngan
The Archaeology Department excavated and found the site of the palace in
Shwebo. In accordance with the finds, parts of the palace, the Glass Palace and
the Audience Hall of the Shwebon Yadana Mingala Palace, have been rebuilt. The
grand Maha Nanda Lake and ancient pagodas are also in Shwebo. |
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Myanan Sankyaw Shwenandaw Mandalay [19th Century AD]
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King Mindon built the Myanan Sankyaw Shwenandaw Royal Palace and
Mandalay Yadanabon City in 1859 and there by set up his region. The palace was
razed during World War It. Out of the 114 buildings thus destroyed, rebuilding
of 89 was started in 1990 and completed in 1996. Fine Myanmar architecture and
woodwork embellish the structures. |
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Maha Atulawaiyan [Atumashi] Monastery, Mandalay
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The Maha Atulawaiyan Monastery, was one of the
structures constructed as part of the main seven sites by King Mindon when he
established the Yadanabon City. The great monastery was lost in a fire in 1892.
It was a brick monastery of the Yadanabon period. Architects had put together
the structure combining wood and brickwork, and it was extraordinary.
Reflecting its original style, work on rebuilding it started in 1995 and was
completed in 1996. |
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Maha Wayyanbontha Bagaya Monastery, Amarapura
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| The Maha
Wayyanbontha Bagaya Monastery in Amarapura razed in Konbaung period and
remained in ruins. Work on rebuilding it was started in February 1993 and
completed in May 1995. It is a genuine Myanmar architectural masterpiece in
wood and remains as heritage for those desirous of studying such exquisite
work. |
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Ancient Beikthano City
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The ancient Beikthano City is situated north of
Kokkogwa village twelve miles west of Taungdwingyi in Magwe Division.
Excavation of the city site commenced in 1958-59 for archaeological studies.
The finds included the city wall, buttresses, city gates, residences, religious
buildings and ancient cultural relics of the Pyu civilization. It could be
concluded from the studies that Pyu culture flourished in ancient Beikthano
from the 1 st to the 4th-5th Century AD. |
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Ancient Tharekhittra City
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Ancient Tharekhittra City is situated about five miles southeast of Pyay in
Bago Division. Excavation of the ancient city and archaeological studies began
in 196263. Strangely, the city wall was neither oval nor circular. The site is
about five and a half square miles. The finds included the palace base, city
wall, entrance and remains of ancient structures. From studies, it was
concluded that in the earlier period Brahmana teachings and Mahayana Buddhism
thrived, judging from the finds which included god figurines of the Brahamana
and Mahayana sects. Finds also pointed to the eventual emergence of Theravada
Buddhism as evinced by the inscriptions of the Pitakat on gold and silver foil,
and gold, silver, bronze and stone Buddha statues and terra cotta images. Some
of the pagodas, which still remain intact are the Pyu period edifices Bawbawgyi
Pagoda, Phayagyi Pagoda, Phayamar Pagoda and Laymyethna Cave Pagoda, the Bebegu
Pagoda, the Ashezaygu, the Anaukzaygu and the Yahandagu Pagodas. They are
evidence of the pre-Bagan period architectural masterpieces. The finds point to
the presence of the ten traditional arts and that there was a high standard of
civilization. |
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Finds of Pondaung Primates
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Fossils of primates which
indicate the presence of early human civilization were excavated by Myanmar
archaeologists in 1978 and by fossil experts in March and April 1997. The finds
were presented and explained to State leaders, experts and academicians and
studies were conducted, inviting foreign experts. A second team to study
Pondaung primates was formed and field studies were conducted from December
1997 to January 1998.
The Pondaung area is the north-westerly section of middle Myanmar where the
Sagaing and Magway Divisions converge. A complete set of left and right jaws
Ampithhicus primate dating back to 40 million years was found by the team of
experts near Ba-in village, Myaing Township in the Pondaung area. In addition,
pieces of the left and right arms of the primate were found at a site about
three miles northwest of Ba-in village, and a molar of the primate was also
found about two miles north-west of the village. |
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Archaeological studies of the Pondaung primate fossils
by a combined team of local and foreign experts is still in progress. |
