SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog » Thailand

Public Lecture: Pots and How They are Made in Southeast Asia

noelbynature — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:23:19 +0000

Readers in Singapore may be interested in this talk about ceramics production in Mainland SEA by Louise Cort and Leedom Lefferts. Click on the image to download the flyer (pdf). No registration is required.

Pots and how they are made in mainland Southeast Asia
Louise Allison Cort and Leedom Lefferts
Friday, 17 February 2012, 7 to 8.30pm
Ngee Ann Auditorium, Asian Civilisations Museum

Ayutthaya repair to defend against future floods

noelbynature — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:51:07 +0000

Current repairs to Ayutthaya from last year’s devastating floods will include measures to prevent against future floods.

Inspection of flood damage at Ayutthaya, MCOT News 20120131

Restoration of historic Ayutthaya sites to cope with renewed flood
MCOT News, 31 January 2012

Thailand’s antiquities authorities will speed up restoring the former capital’s historic sites, damaged by last year’s flooding in the city of Ayutthaya, and reinforce weak structures in preparation for possible repeat flooding in the future.

Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome and Somsuda Leeyawanich, director-general of the Fine Arts Department on Tuesday inspected the collapsed wall of the Mahathat Temple. A five-kilometre section of the wall tumbled down during the flood and Ayutthaya’s provincial fines art agency has used wooden staves to prop the remaining sections of wall to prevent further collapse.

Full story here.

The Portuguese in Southeast Asia

noelbynature — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:50:50 +0000

The Portuguese were one of the first European powers to enter Southeast Asia. In conjunction with a conference on Siamese relations with the west held in Ayutthaya this week, this story showcases the influence of the Portuguese in Southeast Asia.

Replica of Flor de la Mar in Malacca

Ships from the West
The Nation, 20 January 2012

The Portuguese – the first Europeans to hunt for treasure in Southeast Asia – got off to a poor start, spending two years in the early 1500s violently establishing a foothold in the Malay state of Malacca. Lesson learned, they were more diplomatic in Pegu, Sumatra and Siam.

Just how peaceful their history was in old Thailand will be examined in a conference in Ayutthaya next week on the 500th anniversary of Siamese relations with the West.

Over two days, dozens of scholars will describe what happened half a millennium ago when the hulking, bearded strangers (think of the frightening farang “guardian” statues at Wat Po) first appeared on these shores.

“Malacca was where East met West, and the Portuguese came to take over the maritime trade,” historian Charnvit Kasetsiri told reporters during a recent preliminary tour in Malacca, once known as “the Emporium of the East”.

Full story here.

7 Lectures from iTunes U on Southeast Asian Archaeology

noelbynature — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:37:16 +0000

Last week, Apple announced a revamped iBooks and iTunes U service aimed at bringing textbooks and course materials to the iPad. There’s a fair buzz in the education circles, but how much content is there relating to the archaeology of Southeast Asia?

As expected, not much, yet. There aren’t many channels devoted to archaeology, much less to the archaeology of Southeast Asia. But if you dig deeper, you might be able to find a couple of good lectures and material. Here’s my list of so 7 far:

Sacred Lands, Sacred Traditions: The arts of Southeast Asia and the Himalayas – a 2005 lecture series by the Society of Asian Art at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. Covers topics of the art of Thailand and Indonesia in particular, and the art of early Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia-China Interaction – from the Asia Research Institute at the National University of Singapore. The lecture series covers a wide variety of topics from the ancient to the contemporary, but some of the lectures relevant to archaeology include talks on Champa in Vietnam and kiln sites in Cambodia.
Emerald Cities – Another series by the Asian Art Museum, focused on a 2009-2010 exhibition focused on the art of 18-20th century Thailand and Myanmar.
South and Southeast Asia before 1200 – Part of lecture series on art by Maggie Hobson-Baker of the Montogomery County Community College.
Arts of Southeast Asia Documentaries – Another one from the Asian Art Museum, one of the the three podcasts in this series is about the temple mountains of Cambodia.
World Audio Cambodia – Sounds, music and stories from Cambodia. Not exactly archaeological, but there are some locations featured.
Passport to Asia – Asian Art Museum Lecture series 2008-2009. A wide variety of subjects on Asian sites, but two lectures on Pagan (Myanmar), Borobudur (Indonesia) and the Royal Road of Angkor (Cambodia/Thailand).

That’s a start. It’s not quite seven lectures, as some of the links contain more than one lecture! Do you know of any other content in iTunes U that is related to Southeast Asian Archaeology?

Indonesian observers to be sent to disputed border

noelbynature — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 00:41:00 +0000

Indonesia confirms that a team of observers will be sent to the disputed border between Cambodia and Thailand at Preah Vihear.

Preah Vihear, cc image

Indonesian Observer Team Will Head to Cambodia-Thai Border
Jakarta Globe, 17 January 2012

In the wake of recent developments related to the border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said on Monday that Indonesia would continue the long-delayed plan to send an Indonesian observer team to the border.

“I can confirm this thanks to the positive outcome of discussions between the Thai and Cambodian governments,” Marty told the Jakarta Globe.

“Both countries reaffirmed their wish to have an Indonesian observer team in the 4.6-square kilometer provisional demilitarized zone as a follow up to the International Court of Justice ruling,” he added, referring to the disputed area surrounding the centuries-old Preah Vihear temple, to which both countries have claims.

Full story here.

Community-based tourism in Sukhothai

noelbynature — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:08:45 +0000

Archaeology isn’t about ancient ruins and dead remains. Very often, the living still inhabit archaeological sites. The Nation features a project by Naresuan University to document the living traditions and lifestyle of the people inhabiting Sukohthai, Thailand’s first capital.

photo credit: nova031

A clearer eye on Sukhothai
The Nation, 05 January 2012

The future will be better if we understand our past, so the wisdom has it. Call Sukhothai very wise. It continues to learn and prosper in the lingering glow of its glory as Siam’s capital 700 years ago.

In a project backed by the Thailand Research Fund, Jirawat Phirasant – director of Naresuan University’s Institute of Mekong-Salween Civilisation Studies – mined the venerable knowledge of 12 Sukhothai communities that will be useful in modern education and tourism.

“The idea is to promote tourism that’s based on the local lifestyle and wisdom, and using their traditional skills to create community products,” Jirawat explains.

The dozen communities of Tambon Mueang Kao surround the Sukhothai Historical Park. Jirawat visited them all to gather oral histories and record local expressions, social practices, rituals and festivals. He studied their performing arts and traditional craftsmanship, and even noted how nature and the universe are perceived.

Full story here.

Last post for the year

noelbynature — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 02:56:45 +0000

So I’m enjoying my year-end break a little too much… and I’ll resume normal postings with the new year, once I get settled down again. For the last post of the year, here’s a roundup of the stories from the past two weeks. Happy new year!

Cambodia

Police break up a prayer ceremony at Angkor Wat, a protest against the government against the destruction of a forest.
A team from Unesco surveys the damage at Preah Vihear.
The restoration of the Bakong Wat is completed, after five years of work.
Cambodia and Thailand come to a troop withdrawal agreement.(See also here and here.)

Indonesia

The Jakarta Globe shines the spotlight on Sukuh and Cetho, two temples in Central Java.
The Bangkok Post reviews a new book on Borobudur.

Myanmar

Italy announces a grant to help safeguard the cultural heritage of Myanmar.

Thailand

The famous Temple of Dawn, Wat Arun, has been declared safe after post-flooding inspections.
Unesco affirms its support for the restoration of Ayutthaya.

Vietnam

The Thai Binh Province Museum gets a US Ambassador’s grant to restore some wooden artefacts.

UNESCO team surveys Preah Vihear damage

noelbynature — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:42:04 +0000

A team from Unesco recently inspected the damage done to Preah Vihear after this year’s fighting between Cambodia and Thailand over the territory.

Preah Vihear, wikicommons image

UNESCO team views Preah Vihear damage

Phnom Penh Post, 15 December 2011

More than a dozen UNESCO volunteers visited the Preah Vihear temple yesterday to determine the extent of damages that resulted from armed battle near the temple in February, officials said.

Council of Ministers undersecretary of state Sous Yara, who accompanied the UNESCO delegation to the World Heritage site yesterday, said the visit was â€œvery importantâ€ because it was UNESCOâ€™s first since fighting broke out between Cambodia and Thailand in February.

â€œThey came to see about the damage we reported to them from the fighting,â€ he said. â€œThailand reported no damage, but now they see that there is damage.â€

Full story here.

Ayutthaya's lesser known sites may be lost in the flood triage

noelbynature — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 13:33:11 +0000

With limited funds to repair the flood damage, some of the lesser-known sites in Ayutthaya may be completely lost as funds for repair are prioritised to more prominent sites.

photo credit: BernieCB

Ayutthaya’s ‘forgotten’ temples damned by deluge
Bangkok Post, 11 December 2011

Lesser-known historic sites in the ancient capital were severely damaged by the floods and now that reconstruction has begun they may be forever abandoned in favour of more prominent spots

Walking down splintered side roads in post-flood Ayutthaya recently – among the rotting debris of rubbish mountains, animal carcasses and rusted motor vehicles – I sensed that the aftermath would be harsh. Homes had been destroyed. Large trees had been ripped up by their roots. Many parts of the city still remained beneath water after two to three months of flooding. My task was to seek out small deserted ruins (wat raeng) and countryside temples (wat rad), ones that few locals and tourists have ever heard of, so that I could survey the damage.

This personal research was the saddest academic activity I have ever undertaken. Flooding caused at least one large ruin to collapse into a mound of bricks, fresh cracks split the walls and foundations of other structures, and a centuries-old Portuguese graveyard displaying dozens of skeletons had been transformed into a swimming pool. I realised that some of these historic sites could never be repaired. Ultimately, the questions are raised: What is the value of these lesser known, non-revenue generating, ancient historic structures in a modern city that is rapidly urbanising? What importance will they have for future Thai generations?

Full story here.

Unesco assessments on Ayutthaya flood damage

noelbynature — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:33:52 +0000

Another story on the initial assessment of the flood damage to Ayutthaya by UNESCO experts.

UNESCO experts voice concern over flooded Ayutthaya World Heritage Site
MCOT News, 09 December 2011

International experts of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) expressed concern about the stability of the monuments, foundations and decorative works at Thailandâ€™s historic city of Ayutthaya after it was hit by the countryâ€™s most disastrous flooding in decades.

â€œThere is a need to closely monitor the condition of the sites and the affected monuments, especially in the next few months as foundations and structures dry out, as well as, of course, over the long-term,â€ said Tim Curtis, chief UNESCOâ€™s Bangkok culture unit.

Full story here.