Pink canopy tents were erected over two opened pits in a small sugar-apple plantation not far from the Central Mosque, or Masjid Ban Suan, in Muang district of Lop Buri. At first glance, it looked like nobody was here. Then someone emerged from the site. He had a broken piece of clay pot in his hand.
Sorathach Rotchanarat, an archaeologist from the Fine Arts Department, spent a couple months with his team to dig out the soil and collect evidence to indicate that there was a community living in the area since the New Iron Age, around 3,100-3,800 years ago. The site he most recently discovered is called Khok Phutsa, the newest archaeological site out of 116 that have been excavated in the Lop Buri River Basin over the past 80 years (see sidebar). Khok Phutsa is located about 5km from the King Narai the Great's Monument, the landmark of the city.
"I was very excited and happy when we first discovered some artefacts last December. So far we've found more than 10,000 broken clay pots and other items at this site," he said.
The excavation of Khok Phutsa started in December last year, after the land owner informed the Fine Arts Department about the discovery of ancient clay pot fragments. Alongside Sorathach, a team of archaeologists led by Pakpadee Yukongdi of the Fine Arts Department, together with Dr Roberto Ciarla and Dr Fiorella Rispoli from Italy, visited the site. The Italian experts worked with the Fine Arts Department through the joint Thai-Italian Lopburi Regional Archaeological Project (LoRAP), founded in 1988 to study archaeology in the Lop Buri River Basin.
Ruins at the National Museum. KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
Before starting the excavation at the Khok Phutsa site, the team created a map of the area. They selected two vacant lots where there were no sugar-apple trees. The size of the first pit is 4x4m and the second, 3x2m. They are a little bit far from each other.
While working on each pit, they gradually removed the soil inch by inch until they reached to the natural layer of soil where there is no evidence of anthropogenic activity.
"I was thrilled when we found a human skeleton during the first month of excavation. The depth was only 1.5m," said Sorathach.
After the human bones were found, the team removed dirt by using smaller and softer tools like archaeology brushes. Later, they discovered the whole skeleton. It was straight with the face up. But the team can't yet tell if it's a he or a she.
When they finished digging the first pit, they found two skeletons. There was broken pottery beside the bodies. They also found a clay pot, not broken, next to the feet.
Currently, the team is working on the second pit at the Khok Phutsa site. Besides the skeletons found in both pits, the team has found shells of giant clams and ornaments made from them, such as broken bangles and beads. Axes made from the shells of giant clams were also found.
"The evidence showed that the area used to be a community where people knew how to create products from giant clams. The species lives on corals, but its shells are found on land. It confirms the old knowledge that the area of Lop Buri and other provinces in the Central Region were part of the sea 8,000 years ago," he said.
The team found additional artefacts belonging to people from other periods. These include small, loaf-shape skin-rubbing stones, stone axes, drum-shaped ear-studs, clay beads and pottery.
The human skeleton in the first pit and potholes indicating the use of land after the new Iron Age. KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
"The items show that people have lived in the area of the Khok Phutsa site since the New Iron Age to the Dvaravati period [6th-11th century]. If we look around, we will see that the site is located in a Muslim community. It means that people have lived in the area from prehistorical times until today," he said.
All artefacts found in the two pits will be removed. Some items will be further studied in the laboratory to date them accurately, while the human bones will be extracted to get DNA. The information will also help discover if people migrated during ancient times.
The team expects to finish excavation and remove all artefacts before the monsoon season. They will cover the pits and return the site to the owner, as there is no plan to develop Khok Phutsa to be a new tourist attraction in Lop Buri.
"We only need to collect all items we found at the site because every artefact is important evidence letting us know our history. It tells us how people lived their lives in the area that we live in today," he concluded.
CHRONOLOGY OF ARCHAEOLOGY IN LOP BURI
1931: A number of flaked stone tools believed to have been made by prehistoric humans living in the Palaeolithic Age were found in Khao Sanam Chaeng in Ban Mi district by Karl Friedrich Sarasin, a Swiss naturalist.
1964: Human burial sites, bronze jewellery and tools from the Iron Age were found along Lop Buri River Basin by Vidya Intakosi, an archaeologist with the Fine Arts Department.
1966-1970: Ornaments like bracelets and beads made from seashells, dating back 2,700-3,500 years, were found at Ban Khok Charoen by Prof Chin You-di of the Fine Arts Department, and William Watson and Helmut Loofs-Wissowa of the University of London.
1979: A prehistoric community was found in Ban Tha Kae. Archaeologists from the Fine Arts Department found human skeletons and ancient pots.
1986-94: A source of copper was found in Khao Wong Phrachan in Khok Samrong district by archaeologists from the Fine Arts Department and the University of Pennsylvania. They launched the Thailand Archaeometallurgy Project in 1984, when bronze artefacts were found at the Ban Chiang site in Udon Thani. The team found that people from the Bronze and Iron Age had learned to produce tools from copper. They believed that the site in Khao Wong Phrachan in Lop Buri was the largest copper-production area in mainland Southeast Asia.
Armbands of multiple bangles made of tin and bronze were found on the wrists of an adult's skeleton at Phu Noi site in Ban Mi district. KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
1988: The Fine Arts Department joined hands with the International Association of Mediterranean and Oriental Studies to launch the Lop Buri Regional Archaeological Project (LoRAP) to study the social and economic development of communities in the Neolithic Age to the early historical periods in the Lop Buri River Basin.
1988-1993: The LoRAP team found evidence in the Tha Kae site of Muang district indicating that people lived along the river basin from the Neolithic to the Khmer-Lop Buri period (800-3,800 years ago).
1994-1995: The project found three layers of burials dating from the end of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age at the Ban Phu Noi site in Ban Mi district.
2006-2008: The team found a site of copper ore and an ancient community in Khao Wong Phrachan.
Today: The team found a new archaeological site in Ban Khok Phutsa in Muang district. They found artefacts like seashell ornaments, broken clay pots and skeletons dating back to the Neolithic Age.
Until Feb 29, 2020: A one-year exhibition titled "New Knowledge From Archaeological Sites In The Lop Buri Basin" will be hosted at King Narai National Museum in the city of Lop Buri. It showcases ancient artefacts found during the 30-year co-operation of LoRAP. The aim is to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Thai-Italian diplomatic relations.
It shows a collection of ancient artefacts dating back to the New Iron Age until the Dvaravati period. Items include earthenware vases, stone axes, seashell ornaments and stone bracelets.
Ancient rice grains. KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
Beads made from giant clam shells. The Fine Arts Department
A clay whistle, which may have been a musical instrument used by people in the Iron Age. The artefact was found in Tha Kae site in Muang district. The Fine Arts Department
Collections of pottery dating back to the Iron Age found in Lop Buri. The items are displayed in the exhibition at King Narai National Museum in Lop Buri. KARNJANA KARNJANATAWE
Dr Fiorella Rispoli, left, and Dr Roberto Ciarla, middle, the Italian archaeologists, excavated the first pit of the Khok Phutsa site. Photo courtesy of THE FINE ARTS DEPARTMENT
