Don Ta Phet House

Terrain

General Condition

Ban Don Ta Phet Archaeological Site Currently located within the area of ​​Wat Salwanaram School. is the location of the stadium multipurpose building cement road inside the school Empty spaces are grassy ground. and Baan Don Ta Petch Museum

The archaeological site is a mound located on a large mound that currently houses the community in Don Ta Phet Subdistrict.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Sam Phan Crocodile River

Geological conditions

Ban Don Ta Phet archaeological site is located on a mound at the edge of the area deposited by sediments in the Quaternary period. (Quaternary)

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Ban Don Ta Petch Archaeological Site is one of the important Iron Age archaeological sites in the western central region of Thailand. Which is the edge of the western central plain, located in Moo 7, within the Salwanaram Temple School, Don Ta Phet Subdistrict, Phanom Thuan District, Kanchanaburi Province

This archaeological site can determine the age of the 3rd-8th Buddhist century, or about 2,300-1,700 years ago, is the source of evidence of settlement as a permanent community. Have connections with other communities from outside both within the same area such as in Kanchanaburi, Suphan Buri, Ratchaburi and in remote areas such as India, Vietnam, as well as receiving technology for casting jewelry and utensils made of iron and bronze. including making jewelry from stone and glass.

Important artifacts obtained from excavation and exploration are

1. Bronze antiques (Chin Yue 1976, Anek Sihamat 1977), such as a floating chicken, looks like a rooster crowing on a perch. The mouth of a spider-like or crab-like animal, cage-shaped, or bronze chicken coop. Looks like a cone at the top with a hole, which is probably used for plugging in the shape of a chicken, a swan, a peacock, a bell, a bracelet, a ring, a vessel of various shapes such as a cylinder, a bowl, a bucket, a lid with a pointed cork, a bronze ladle and a container. A piece of bronze depicts a woman with a bun with long hair, long ears, and a shirt, found only on the upper part of the woman's body.

The bronze vessels found at Ban Don Ta Phet represent advanced metal casting technology. Is the casting of lost wax (Lost wax) because the vessels found are thin and have beautiful carvings. From the analysis of the bronze metal, it was revealed that it contained a high content of tin. The bronze at Ban Don Ta Phet is shiny and brittle.

2. Iron Antiques (Chin Yue 1976; Suraphon Nathapindu 1976; Suradet Konthong 2002), including various types of steel tools, such as hand tools with bongs. Hand tools with slotted inserts Bounded Hand Tool Spear with bongs Spear with clenched spearhead Arrowhead harpoon hoop shaped like a bracelet Knives, nails, sickle (hook knife) Hook An iron tool shaped like a spear blade but with a hole punched in the middle. Long steel bar

From the analysis of the structure in the ferrous metal from Ban Don Ta Phet, it was found that the physical structure of the iron was coarse crystals. The arrangement of crystals is a ferrite type. which is a structure with low carbon content making the steel less hard It is wrought iron.

The iron body showed that the smelting process was not very good. Probably from the direct process (Bloomery Process) still has unwanted minerals (slag) is iron oxide and iron sulfide. left in the iron This will cause the steel to corrode easily. But the benefit is to increase the hardness of the steel.

Evidence of iron tools pointing to prehistoric way of life at Ban Don Ta Phet archaeological site, such as hand tools used in carpentry and digging, hunting tools such as spear blades and arrowheads. The way of life should consist of cultivation and hunting - foraging for forest products. Iron tools also reflect community beliefs:iron tools from both sources are obtained from graves. or as an object dedicated to the deceased Shows the belief after death of people in the community. There was a deliberately broken or bent iron tool dedicated to the deceased before burial. This may come from the belief that the things buried for the deceased must cause them to die (damage) as well.

Stone antiques, such as stone tools or small scrapers (shoulder adze) made of quartzite, terrazzo tools, carnelian and agate beads, shapes such as spheres, cylinders, and beer kegs. The special stone bead is a carnelian bead shaped like a leaping lion, perforated top, height 3.1 cm, length 5.7 cm, etched stone beads.

4. Glass antiques such as purple and green glass bracelets Glass beads of various colors such as light green, blue, blue, reddish-brown and clear. long square long hexagon dodecagon shape Pyramid, dovetailed apex, annular, circular pole resembling a beer keg and round shape

5. Terracotta containers, such as earthenware with a round bottom at the end Some leaves are made of scratch, stamp, and rope pattern. Some leaves are painted with red clay, terracotta glass, round shape with a hole in the middle, etc.

6. Human bones Most found only parts such as leg bones, finger bones, arm bones, skull and teeth, etc. Some of the bones were contained in bronze containers. and some were found together with broken items The teeth are found in both childhood and adult teeth. which appears traces of molar tooth wear (Chin Yu Yu 1976)

Life Agriculture and hunting - hunting There is an exchange of goods and culture with neighboring communities and overseas communities. Steel tools are used as the main tool in a variety of forms and functions. Pottery and bronze vessels were used. The body is decorated with jewelry such as bracelets, anklets, rings, earrings, hoops made of various objects. Especially bronze, iron, stone, glass, bone, cloth was used and tools and utensils may be produced by themselves. especially earthenware (Including iron and bronze utensils?)

Technology The bronze vessels found at Ban Don Ta Phet represent advanced metal casting technology. Is the casting of lost wax (Lost wax) because the vessels found are thin and have beautiful carvings. Bronze metal has a high content of tin. The bronze at Ban Don Ta Phet is shiny and brittle.

As for steel technology, it is found that it is wrought iron. The smelting process is not very good. Probably from the direct process (Bloomery Process) still has unwanted minerals (slag) is iron oxide and iron sulfide. left in the iron makes the steel easy to corrode But the benefit is to increase the hardness of the steel.

belief (Chin Dee Dee 1976; Wannee Mukpaksacharoen 1976) Beliefs of the important prehistoric community at Ban Don Ta Petch. is a funeral ritual It was found that most of the burials were secondary (secondary burial) objects dedicated to the body. There are various types of steel tools. (Some were intentionally bent) Ornaments made of bronze, stone, glass, bone and earthenware; pottery, bronze vessels, earthenware, bronze ladle, terrazzo axe, perforated stone wheel. bronze peacock A piece of cloth was also found attached to a bronze vessel and a bronze bracelet. It was also noted that Dedication objects such as axes, spears, chisels, arrowheads, were found only in male bodies, while terracottaware, bracelets, anklets and beads were found only in female bodies.

Connecting with external communities Artifacts obtained from archaeological studies show connections with outside communities, such as India during the Moriya dynasty (Dr. Warangkana Rajapitak compared it to bronze vessels in the Moriya dynasty. containing the same tin mixture especially in the community at Taksila in the Moriya dynasty) in Vietnam in the Shaun culture (Ling-Ling-O beads), where contact may have come by sea from India to Burma. and enter via Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi or enter by sea through the port city at Nakhon Pathom Most of the goods traded were bronze utensils. Jewelry such as beads, stones, glass, etc., as a community center for trading from India with other communities deep within.

The discovery of foreign antiques in Ban Don Ta Petch archaeological site shows that Ban Don Ta Phet was probably an Indian trading station in the Moriya dynasty. or a little later because during that time Lord Chandragupta First King of the Moriya dynasty has focused on dealing with foreign trade by requesting to build a port city at the mouth of the Ganges River, namely the city of Lipti to trade with countries in the east and has created many trade routes within the kingdom Evidence of ties with India is

- Peacock-shaped bronze ladle handle The peacock is an animal of India. It is a symbol of the sun and the royal family Moriya (Moriya means peacock). The peacock-shaped ladle is also found at Khao Sam Kaew Archaeological Site, Chumphon Province, which is an important port city in the south.

- Carnelian and agate beads which has a production source in India and was an important export product of India during the late iron period. or in the Moriya-Sung dynasty (Buddhist centuries 3-5) and later in the Iron Age. or the Indo-Roman period (5-9th Buddhist century)

- Lion carnelian beads popular with westerners especially the Greeks, Sitian and Batian, who came to rule over Taksila. (Buddhist 5th-8th century), used as a symbol of the Buddha who is like a lion of the Sakayawong. This lion-shaped railing is not only found at Ban Don Ta Petch archaeological site. It is also found at Ban Amphawas Archaeological Site, Tha Chana District, Surat Thani Province. which was an important port city in the south at the beginning of history as well.