Thais Find Ancient Cemetery in Hunt for Origins

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Thais Find Ancient Cemetery in Hunt for Origins

 

LOPBURI, Thailand (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered an ancient cemetery in central Thailand, one of the largest ever found in the country and a potential key to help unlock the origin of the Thai people.

Artifacts and human remains have been unearthed at the site, believed to date back more than 2,000 years, including items made of bronze, iron, sea shell, marine turtle shell, glass and stone.

 

Archaeologist Suraphol Nathapintha, a lecturer at Bangkok's Silpakorn University, told Reuters the cemetery could contain up to 10,000 skeletons.

 

The bones were about 2,200 years old, according to carbon dating, he said.

 

"From our excavation up to this moment, we have found that this archaeology site seems to be the largest cemetery so far that has been found in central Thailand," Suraphol said.

 

"From the rough calculation, the cemetery probably contains more than 10,000 skeletons. This large cemetery is certainly related to a very large settlement, so I consider this is very important archaeological evidence," Suraphol said.

 

The site is 150 km (93 miles) north of Bangkok and he said a settlement with at least 10,000 people during that time in Thailand was considered very large.

 

The team, with cooperation from the Italian Institute for the Study of Africa and the Far East, plans to start the excavation as a joint project in December. Suraphol estimates it will take about five years to complete the study.

 

"I personally believe at this moment that this kind of settlement developed in the early history of Thailand, so it can help us clarify the problem where the Thai people come from," Suraphol said.

 

The team was now studying the bones, including measuring them to calculate the height of the people in the settlement, he said.