Artefacts stolen from UNESCO-recognised Bagan

By DMG 20 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
20 April 2022, Sittwe

Artefacts decorated at the thrones of Buddha statues in two ancient pagodas at the UNESCO World Heritage site Bagan in central Myanmar were recently stolen, according to the Myanmar Archaeology Association.

A three-headed Brahma sculpture from Pagoda No. 418 and all of the stone sculptures from Pagoda No. 716 were stolen, said the chairwoman of the Myanmar Archaeology Association, Daw Ohmar Myo.

“Those pagodas are less visited, and there are no security guards there. Only a few people know about the value of the sculptures. So, we are sure the theft is an inside job. The three-headed Brahma sculpture is quite rare,” she told DMG.

The association has reported the thefts to police, and will also seek the help of Interpol and other cross-border crime squads, she said.

“We are checking against the records to find out how many artefacts were stolen from those pagodas,” said an official of the Bagan branch of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum who did not want to be named.

In June 2020, artefacts were stolen from five Bagan pagodas during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The thieves apparently capitalised on a lack of visitors and vendors, and stole valuables from five pagodas near Ywa Haung Gyi Pagoda.

The theft at Bagan is a warning for Mrauk-U, which is in the midst of an ongoing bid for UNESCO World Heritage status, said Daw Khin Than, the chairwoman of the Mrauk-U Cultural Heritage Conservation Association.

“Mrauk-U still does not have a security apparatus to protect the heritage. Many statues have gone missing at Koe Thaung Pagoda. And many other statues have been damaged there. Buddha statues at Lay Myet Hnar Pagoda were also broken. We don’t know how many pagodas have been robbed in remote parts of the city,” she said.

Daw Khin Than called for cooperation between authorities and local people to prevent such thefts.

Bagan was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in July 2019, and Mrauk-U, the ancient capital of the former Arakanese kingdom, currently has a pending bid seeking World Heritage status.