Ban Chiang Archaeological Site—Udon Thani Province, Thailand - World Heritage Sites on Waymarking.com

The Ban Chiang archaeological site in northern Thailand is the leading archaeological site in the Kingdom of Thailand. This is due to its earliest inhabitants, a society of hunter-gatherers, who independently developed a settled agrarian society, and a resultant Bronze and Iron age. Prior to Ban Chiang it was generally assumed that south east Asian agriculture technology was imported from India and China. In 1992, in recognition of this importance, the site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Serious work began at the site in 1966 when a Harvard anthropology student tripped, fell, and noticed exposed tops of buried earthen ware pots. The site now consists of a museum and the original dig site, which is located within a Buddhist temple, both inside the modern Thai village of Ban Chiang.

The waymark location is the UNESCO marker situated just outside the main entrance to the museum dig display, towards the eastern side of the village.

The museum was opened in 1975, but in 2006 a new and much improved museum was opened at the same site. The museum consists of nine galleries, which deal with the historical background, the archaeological dig, and many artefacts from the dig, as well as the 1972 visit by the King of Thailand, who encouraged the exploration of Ban Chiang. The museum has a reproduction dig, many diorama, and lots of information.

The original dig site, at the Buddhist temple, Wat Pho Sri Nat, is part of the museum, though it is located 500m to the east, along Sutthipong Rd, an easy walk. This dig is enclosed with a protective shelter, with information plaques.

Entrance will cost you, if you are a foreigner, 150 baht ($5). There is a gift shop in the museum, no food, but outside is the village with lots of small, local eateries for midday snacks.

Ban Chiang is ~50kms due east of the provincial capital of Udon Thani. Getting there is just a little tricky. As far as I could gather there are no organised tours to the site. The easiest way to reach Ban Chiang is to take a bus from Udon Thani city to the neighbouring province of Sakhon Nakhon, and tell the driver that you wish to alight at Ban Chiang. This trip will cost you 40 baht ($1+), and consume slightly less than an hour of your time. Keep an eye on where you are going, the driver might just forget your drop off point, however, do not worry, there is a large blue sign stretched above the side road to the site, visible from the main road. From the turn off there are tuk tuks waiting to take you to the museum and back, all for the princely sum of 120 bath (~$4—I gave my driver a 20 baht tip). If this interests you I strongly suggest a visit to the Udon City museum. This museum also has a wide range of artefacts and displays from Ban Chiang.

If things historical or archaeological are of interest to you I certainly recommend a visit.

Type: Site Reference number: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/575

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