BANGKOK, 2 March 2014 The Fine Arts Department discovered historical traces of the Ayutthaya community in the Mandalay and Sagaing Regions in Myanmar, due to the continued cooperation in the archaeological conservation efforts of the two countries.
Mr. Anek Sihamat, Director General of Thailand’s Fine Arts Department, said Thai archaeologists and historians visited Mandalay and Sagaing Regions in Republic of the Union of Myanmar to study the history of the Ayutthaya people for the past four days and a discussion was held with Mr. Neo Min Tun, Deputy Director General of Department of Archaeology, Museums and Libraries of Myanmar.
The two countries have exchanged cooperation: Thailand has sent archeological officials to Yangon and Bagan for academic purposes and coordinated with the University of Rangoon to bring Thai explorers and landscape architects to help improve the landscape of temples in Bagan. This discussion placed importance on historical data from the Yodia Community in Mandalay and from Thai and Myanmar literature.
The Director General of the Fine Arts Department said that they found traces that could be linked to the history of Yodia community in the past, according to stories of artifacts of Ayutthaya descent in Myanmar, including murals similar to the Ayutthaya period found in Thein Daw Gyi Temple, Sagaing Region.
Now, the temple has plastered part of murals on the chapel’s wall as it was affected by flooding, causing salt crust and crumbling cement. The Fine Arts Department of Thailand has asked the Department of Archaeology of Myanmar to allow to preserve the temple’s murals.
