Bagan, lying on the left bank of the
Ayeyarwady River in the dry zone of Central Myanmar, is the most
important historical site in Myanmar. It was the capital for two
and a half centuries when the Myanmar Empire reached the zenith
of its power. It was here that Myanmar art and architecture
passed through a golden age. Recorded history of the dynasty
begins with the accession of Anawrahta (A.D 1044 - 1077) in
whose reign Bagan rose to pre-eminence. Bagan is Pyu in origin.
It is probably Pugama and it would have been in existence after
the fall of Sriksetra in AD 832. Bagan then known as Pukam has
also a classical name, Arimadanapura. Situated in a strategic
position though on an arid plain, it commands the rice fields of
Kyaukse in the north east and Minbu in the southwest.
There are early literary references to the Bagan Palace site.
These refer to two palace sites inside the Bagan city wall. In
the Niddesa Parabeik, a traditional saying is recorded. "Kya Oh
An Bagan Ti". Arimadnanapura or Pauk-Kan Pyi Gyi was established
by King Pyinbya in AD 849. The palace was located 144 'ta' to
the west of the Tharaba Gate. A long line of fifty-five kings
ruled over the kingdom of Bagan, beginning from AD 108. But the
present walled-city of Bagan is attributed to King Pyinbya, the
34th king of the dynasty. King Kyansittha also built a new
palace, beginning building in AD 1101, and completing it in AD
1102. Afterwards, he set up four stone inscription pillars to
let posterity know how he had built his new palace. With the
passage of time, the inscription became broken into pieces which
were recovered near the Tharaba Gate, on the south side of the
road within the city wall. All the pieces are now preserved in
the Bagan Museum.
Given the proven existence of palace sites during the reign of
King Bayinnaung (Kambawzathadi) and later King Alaungmintaya (Shwebonyadanar),
it is presumed that King Anawrahta would also have a palace.
The Bagan Branch of the Archaeology Department carried out
recent excavations at the Bagan Palace site, starting from April
2003. A total of sixteen squares have been unearthed. Four
layers can be observed. The basal soil level is distinguished by
its colouration, a deep red colour. The excavated findings are
earthen pots and potsherds, glazed potsherds, earthen bowls,
terracotta discs, broken pipes, pieces of terracotta oil-lamps,
pieces of bone, pieces of broken iron artifacts, iron swords,
bronze rings and terracotta animal figures. There are a range of
designs on the potsherds like hamsa (hintha), tiger, bird, etc.
In the fourth (lower) layer, a heap of pots and potsherds were
found. Various designs of dots, lines and waves can be seen on
the potsherds. There do not appear to be funerary urns, but did
contain animal bones and teeth including ox and those of deer.
Of particular interest are the decorated libation jars. It has
rings on the neck portion and diamond-shaped motifs stamped on
the shoulder. Among the excavated finds, the finding of
fragments of votive tablets which are inscribed with the Mon
script of the Early Bagan Period, and terracotta ring ware are
very interesting. We have never found this type of ring ware
before.
The excavation also revealed large systematically-built
structures made of brick, one small brick structure, 85 m long
north to south, one brick wall, 40 m long east to west, two
brick walls, brick floor, brick gutter and brick circles. Many
rows of brick circles were unearthed and each row consists of
pairs of circles. In a pair, each large circle is accompanied by
a smaller circle adjacent to it. It is a peculiar lay-out of a
floor plan. The big circles are not for the posts, just for
supporting the floor. the small circles may be for the posts for
fixing the beam to support the floor. In the large brick
structures, there are stone-bases for wooden pillars,
arched-niches of brick for votive offerings, staircases to
descend to the ground structure below. The small structure,
contains a small room with flooring made of stone slabs. The
east to west brick wall is connected to the north to south wall,
forming a square. The sizes of the bricks are very different.
There are twelve sizes of bricks found, exhibiting a wide range
of both length (17"-3") and width (9"-2.75"). The height range
is (3"-1"). Regarding the brick laying, some were found to be in
a vertical position, although most were laid horizontally. This
use of both vertical and horizontal positioning of bricks is
typical of the Bagan Period as a whole.
Two types of conservation - structural and chemical
conservations were undertaken, For structural protection of the
brick walls, a supporting system of wooden beams was erected.
For conservation of the large terracotta ringwares, wooden
frames were built to make boxes around the ringwares. These were
then covered with thick plastic sheeting. For the conservation
of the brick walls, a mixture of lime, mortar and red earth
powder was used with a ratio of 1:1:3. This was blended with
chemical glue. This mixture was used to fill the spaces between
the brick layers.
There is no doubt that this is the palace site. The excavated
site is now preserved as it is, keeping the artifacts in situ.
This is the cultural heritage for all of us. This cultural
heritage is very important to preserve not only for the
archaeologists or archaeology students but for all the people of
our country.
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