Ancient city

 The obscure old city in Ayeyarwady Division ...... 🔻

 D

 When it comes to ancient cities in Burma, most of them are in Thare Khettara, central and upper Burma.  ဗိ⁇ နိုး၊  Only Pyu, such as Hanlin, is a World Heritage Site.

 But many would be surprised to find that the Irrawaddy Delta in lower Burma has an older city larger than Mandalay.

 Follow Pathein to Monywa Road from Pathein to Ingapu Township.  You will reach Taung Zin Village beyond Kwin Kauk.  Follow the village road for about 3 miles and you will see the old city, which is about 8 miles in circumference.

 U Pyae Thiri, an abbot of Kyapyin Forest Monastery in the old town

 Since the old town is almost uninhabited, in the past, only monks came to meditate.  In 2008, he ordered the construction of a forest here at the behest of U Pazin's abbots and the preservation of ancient religious buildings, as well as the preservation of cultural heritage in the old town of Pyu.

 Sayadaw U Pyae Thiri, along with dakas near the village, cut down the bushes of ancient religious buildings in the old town and invited a group of historians, U Phone Tint Kyaw, and his team to explore the old city in 2009 while building a forest.

 Researcher U Phone Tint Kyaw and his team studied the alphabet found in the old town.  Bricks  ရေတွင်း၊  Brick stairs  Pagoda  After studying and documenting Buddha statues and deities, he noted that it may have been an ancient city built by the Pyu people over 2,300 years ago.

 The word Brahmi (Brahmi) was used during the Buddhist and Asoka eras, which flourished between the 3rd century BC (300 BC) and the 6th century BC.  The Brahmi alphabet is found in the famous ancient cities of Pyu in Myanmar, such as Thare Khettara,  ဗိ⁇ နိုး၊  Historian U Phone Tint Kyaw explained to The Irrawaddy that it may have been found in the old town of Gwan in Ingapu Township, as it was found in Hanlin.

 This old city flourished between the Buddhist and Asoka eras.  In the Buddhist and Asoka eras, the alphabet called Brahma was used.  The letter disappeared within a year of Asoka's demise and his empire collapsed.  Therefore, according to Brahmi script, the city was founded in the early 6th century BC.  Later it was the third century BCE  It can not be later than that.  He cited evidence that Brahmi script was no longer available after the 3rd century BC.

 In addition, the statues found near the Dhammika Pagoda in Letha Taung, west of the old city, are identical to those of the Pyu-era Arahant Thein in Shwe Taung, Bago Division.  U Phone Tint Kyaw said that the brick staircase is more likely to be the old town of Pyu because of the vertical structure in the style of Pyu art.

 The city is believed to have been destroyed before the reign of King Anawrahta before the Fourth Bagan Dynasty.  Chronicles of the Fourth Pagan Period after the 11th century AD;  The old town is never seen in Mon records.  If it was still inhabited at that time, such a large city must have been in the records of the Bagan period.  U Phone Tint Kyaw said that they are no longer found in history.

 According to the Archaeological Survey of Nay Pyi Taw, Pyu is temporarily classified as an ancient city that has existed for hundreds of years without any evidence.

 In 2013, our department sent experts to study the old city of Ingapu.  According to the evidence on the ground, it was not Pyu.  An official from the Department of Archeology said that it could be an ancient city as it is more than 100 years old by law.

 U Phone Tint Kyaw, a researcher studying Pyu history, said that there were 22 Pyu towns in Burma that flourished between the 3rd and 6th centuries BC before the Tagaung period, including the town called Pyu Pyu.  The old town of Ingapu, found in Irrawaddy Division, is thought to be the city of Pyu Pyu.

 Pyu chronicles include a city named Pyu.  It is called the Sea of ​​Python because it is located near the sea.  I think the old city of Ingapu is a sea town.  Historian U Phone Tint Kyaw says this is the only city the size of your capital, located on the seashore.

 Under Pyu rule, only kings were allowed to build large cities.  Boundaries are only allowed to build cities that are about half or one-third the size of the royal capital.

 The old town of Ingapu, about 8 miles in circumference, is located in Bago, lower Burma.  မုတ် မ၊  Historians who researched the ancient city of Ingapu believe that it was larger than the old cities of Thaton and would have been ruled by a Pyu king.

 The old town of Ingapu was built on a ridge over 100 feet high against the backdrop of the Rakhine Yoma.  Pagodas;  The springs are centered on the site of the springs, and on the left and right ridges are walls made of cobblestones.  On the east side of the city are vast plains and villages.

 The people of the city were organized in those days.  Outposts were set up on the ridges on the left and on the right, with access to the center.  The merchants who came to them;  Diplomats  U Phone Tint Kyaw, a field observer in the old town of Ingapu, said that if enemies entered, there would be only one entrance from the plains at the entrance.

 If Pyu is correct, he said, the ancient city of Ingapu, with an area of ​​more than 8 miles, could be the second largest city after Pyu.

 According to historical records unearthed in Ayeyarwaddy Division, the Inwa period, which flourished in the 14th century AD, dates back to the Pyu period, which is more than 1,000 years older than the Inwa period.

 Evidence of the Pyu period has now been found.  U Tint Kyaw said that if excavated properly, it would provide invaluable evidence for history.

 There is only one ancient city in Myaungmya in Ayeyarwaddy Division and it is designated as an archeological site by the Ministry of Culture.

 Some people do not understand the historical value of the ancient city.  Paving bricks and paving roads;  Removing gold from the feet of the Buddha;  The ancient city of Ingapu has been designated as an archeological site and the government wants it to be systematically preserved, as ancient buildings in the area of ​​the old town are being destroyed for medicinal purposes, he said.

 The old city should be designated as an archeological site and the government should take care of it as soon as possible.  Even now, when the traders dig in the area west of the old city to prevent the cultivation of medicinal plants, the ivory is ruined.  U Pazin took care of him as much as he could, but the situation would not have been possible without the government's help, said the abbot.

 The old town of Ingapu was inspected and documented by officials from the Archaeological Research Center in Nay Pyi Taw in 2013, but it has not been preserved to this day.

 A senior official at the Archaeological Survey in Naypyidaw said: "We have not yet been able to afford to excavate the site because of the budget."  In front of it is Thare Khettara.  ဗိ⁇ နိုး၊  Han Lin and so on.  It is not yet possible to turn the tide as certain old cities are being excavated.  He told The Irrawaddy that we will work to preserve it under the Archaeological Heritage Act.

 Sayadaw U Pya Thiri is donating and collecting antiquities found by locals to help identify the old town.

 The locals are plowing the fields.  Digging sticks and sticks.  Amber earrings;  There were fragments of pottery inscribed with letters.  If you find any of them, please donate to U Pazin.  At present, about 20 bricks and old medicine sticks have been donated and kept safe, the abbot said.

 Although more than 350 ancient cities have been recorded in Myanmar, the Archaeological Survey has only excavated about 10 cities.  Historian U Phone Tint Kyaw said that only by systematically excavating and documenting the ancient cities could a standard history of Burma flourish.

 Standard history is important for a country.  Even neighboring Thailand has written Standard History.  Our country has not written yet.  To do this, we need to systematically excavate and document the ancient cities.  He said he believed the old city of Ingapu could play a role in Burmese history.