Ancient artefacts unearthed from pagoda in Ann Twsp

By DMG 07 Apr 2022

DMG Newsroom
7 April 2022, Ann

Artefacts including Buddha images and stone inscriptions were unearthed when a stupa in Kyauk Myaung village, part of Arakan State’s Ann Township, recently underwent renovation.

Among the items discovered were four stone inscriptions containing what seem to be incantations and depictions of what are believed to be nat spirits, as well as five silver coins and 15 Buddha statues, Kyauk Myaung villager U Hla Saw Maung told DMG.

“There are words on both sides of four stone inscriptions. There were mainly figures on one side. They appear to be nat spirits. But we don’t know exactly. And other villagers don’t know either,” said U Hla Saw Maung.

The artefacts are currently being kept at the village monastery, and archaeologists from Mrauk-U have been notified about the discoveries, said U Hla Saw Maung.

The silver coins belong to the Mrauk-U era, according to the chairman of the Mrauk-U Cultural Heritage Conservation Association, Daw Khin Than, who said she could similarly identify the provenance of the uncovered Buddha relics.

“The Buddha statues are made with silver. But we can’t exactly tell which era those statues belong to. Silver Buddha statues were also common in the colonial era. However, we can confirm that the silver coins date back to the Mrauk-U era,” she told DMG.

“Those things should be displayed for the public, and should not be enshrined back into the stupa, because that would be like burying history,” Daw Khin Than added.

On March 17, locals discovered a Waithali-era stupa, which is believed to be more than 1,000 years old, in Minbya Township’s Zai Chaung village.