Lightning rods to be installed at 10 temples in Bagan

By Admin 07 Oct 2023

DMG Newsroom
7 October 2023, Bagan, Mandalay Region

Lightning conductors will be installed at 10 temples in the World Heritage-listed temple city of Bagan to prevent the structures from being damaged by lightning strikes, according to the Bagan branch of the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

The lightning rods will be installed at Htilominlo, Mya Zedi, Sulamani, Dhammayangyi, Shwesandaw, Manuha, Pyathatgyi, Maha Bawdhi, Dhammyazaka and Pantthaki Maharhtay temples.

Those pagodas were damaged by earthquakes in 1975 and 2016, and reinforced concrete was used in repairs, according to director U Kyaw Myo Win of the Bagan branch of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum.

“Those pagodas have metal [reinforcing bars], so they can conduct. This is why we have chosen those pagodas,” said U Kyaw Myo Win.

The department will make sure that the lightning rods do not affect the temples’ aesthetic or structural integrity, he added.

Bagan’s pagodas were previously not affected by lightning strikes as they have no hti, the metallic umbrella often crowing the tops of pagodas. But some pagodas have suffered from lightning strikes these days as hti made of metal were later put atop them.

Some pagodas in Bagan were hit by lightning strikes during the current rainy season, but there was no significant damage, according to the department.

“Pagodas like Shwezigon already have lightning conductors. It might be difficult to install lightning conductors at all the 3,000 pagodas,” said prominent archaeologist U Myo Swe Than.