Search for Ayutthayan king concludes, inconclusive

Following up from an early story about the search for the remains of the Ayutthayan King Uthumporn under a stupa in Myanmar – excavations were conducted in the last month but the results have been inconclusive.

In search of a king
Bangkok Post, 25 March 2013

Excavation of Thai king’s tomb almost complete
Eleven Myanmar, 27 March 2013

Doubts remain after tomb hunt
Bangkok Post, 06 April 2013

A team of volunteer archaeologists who set out to verify if a tomb in Myanmar belonged to an Ayutthaya king found some relics and artefacts at the site but cannot reach a conclusion.

The group, supported by the Association of Siamese Architects, carried out the excavation work at Linzingong cemetery, in Amarapura township in Mandalay, from Feb 20 to March 14.

The project was supported by both the Thai and Myanmar governments.

Vichit Chinalai, the project director and a veteran architect, told a seminar on the issue on Thursday that more work needs to be done to prove if the stupa, one of the three at the cemetery, holds relics of King Uthumporn (1730-1796). The monarch reigned briefly before leaving the throne to his brother King Ekathat, the last king of the Ayutthaya period.