Myanmar

Pyu Ancient Cities

WHS Score 1.99
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Votes for Pyu Ancient Cities

0.5

  • Julio Moreno

1.0

  • Errol Neo
  • Zoë Sheng

2.0

  • Cheryl
  • Clyde
  • Luboang
  • Lucio Gorla
  • Luke LOU

2.5

  • Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero

3.0

  • Alexander Parsons
  • Astraftis
  • Els Slots

3.5

  • AC
  • PabloNorte

4.0

  • Alejandro Lau

The Pyu Ancient Cities comprise the archaeological remains of a group of city-states, founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people.

Their cities of Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra are stretched out alongside the River Ayeyarwady. The settlements were fortified and central palace citadels were constructed. The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts. Each of the cities had imposing brick memorial stupas and extensive monastic quarters.

Community Perspective: Clyde describes Sri Ksetra (with one stupa "having the shape of a woman's breast"), while Alexander (he found “the site staff in 'UNESCO preparation mode”) and Els (“low heaps of brick in farmland will get few people excited”) visited Halin.

Site Info

Official Information
Full Name
Pyu Ancient Cities (ID: 1444)
Country
Myanmar
Status
Inscribed 2014 Site history
History of Pyu Ancient Cities
2014: Advisory Body overruled
ICOMOS recommended Deferral
2014: Inscribed
Inscribed
WHS Type
Cultural
Criteria
  • ii
  • iii
  • iv
Links
UNESCO
whc.unesco.org
All Links
UNESCO.org
Related Resources
News Article
  • Jan. 19, 2019 irrawaddy.com — Police Investigate Suspected Burglary of Ancient Pagoda in Sri Ksetra
  • Sept. 2, 2015 mmtimes.com — Since being listed as a World Heritage Site, the ancient city of Sri Ksetra has seen a surge of visitors

Community Information

  • Community Category
  • Archaeological site: South (East) Asian
Travel Information
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Red Zone Travel Advisory
Myanmar fully off-limits
Recent Connections
View all (11) .
Connections of Pyu Ancient Cities
Architecture
World Heritage Process
Religion and Belief
  • Stupa
    still standing monumental brick Buddhist stupas (AB ev)
  • Introduction of Buddhism
    criteria iii "The Pyu Ancient Cities marked the emergence of the first historically-documented Buddhist urban civilization in Southeast Asia." criteria ii "Due to interaction between indigenous Pyu societies with Indic cultures from the 2nd century BCE, Buddhism achieved its first permanent foothold in Southeast Asia among the Pyu cities, where it was embraced by all classes of society from the ruling elite to agrarian labourers." (OUV)
Human Activity
  • Irrigation and drainage
    complex system of irrigation and water storage using elevated weirs canals, dykes, sluice gates, moats and water tanks (AB ev)
Constructions
  • Moats
    "The Pyu cities’ urban morphology set a new template of extended urban format characterized by massive gated walls surrounded by moats" (OUV)
Timeline
Science and Technology
Visiting conditions
News
irrawaddy.com 01/19/2019
Police Investigate Suspected Burgl…
mmtimes.com 09/02/2015
Since being listed as a World Heri…

Community Reviews

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First published: 30/09/15.

Els Slots

Pyu Ancient Cities

Pyu Ancient Cities (Inscribed)

Pyu Ancient Cities by Els Slots

Myanmar’s very first WHS came as a surprise in 2014: few will have visited one of the Pyu Ancient Cities before its inscription. History-wise, it is not an illogical choice, however. The Pyu were the first of the civilizations that settled along the Ayeyarwady River, in what is the heartland of current Myanmar. They started building city-states here from the 2nd century BC. They came from the north (the Tibeto-Burman plateau or India) and brought Buddhism with them.

None of the three Pyu cities Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra lie close to the main tourist destinations in Myanmar. While I was staying in Mandalay, I hired a car plus driver and guide for the day and went for Halin. Though only 95 km, the trip took us 2.5 hours. We found our way out of the busy streets of Mandalay, and then passed the lovely Sagaing with its numerous gilded stupas. Afterward it’s a long haul northwards in the direction of Shwebo. The guide had been there once before, but they do not make it out to Halin often. So driver and guide took some time asking around for the right turn-off. It turned out that there is a huge sign pointing to the World Heritage.

From that sign, it’s another 17 km on a semi-paved country road. We had to stop several times to let cattle and goats pass. Halin was and still is a major agricultural area, the land made fertile by irrigation. You’ll mostly see …

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First published: 22/12/14.

Anonymous

Pyu Ancient Cities

Pyu Ancient Cities (Inscribed)

Pyu Ancient Cities by Clyde

I have been to Halin, 2oo9. Archeology-that many writers wrotes. This is a right spot that UNESCO had chosen. But there are many things to learn /study here- ceramic tiles and Kilns, (now obsolete), Sardaw Oak's (the King's overseer of salt production) his house where no nails were used and built over a hundred years ago, salt export to Western Yunnan, Snake cult, Manipuri invasion, mud pots and mud volcanoes,hot springs, Japanese occupation period, Four layers of inhumatioon, Jormon pots (earliest pottery)etc. etc. There will be no end to learn.

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First published: 22/06/14.

Clyde

Pyu Ancient Cities

Pyu Ancient Cities (Inscribed)

Pyu Ancient Cities by Clyde

I visited this WHS in December 2012. I passed by Halin and Beikthano and decided not to visit due to time constraints and since I had seen quite a number of temples and brick ruins during my 3-4 week visit in Myanmar. Luckily however, I decided to stop and visit Sri Ksetra or Tharay-khit-taya. The main highlights of my trip were the stupas that could be seen at the 4 corners of this large ancient city, one of which was proudly described as "having the shape of a woman's breast". Now that Myanmar has its first WHS I sincerely hope that other sites will follow. Myanmar is a beautiful country and one of its main assets are the wonderful and kind people that live there.

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First published: 06/01/14.

Alexander Parsons

Pyu Ancient Cities

Pyu Ancient Cities (Inscribed)

Pyu Ancient Cities by Alexander Parsons

While in Mandalay in December 2013, I felt compelled to visit the remote archaeological site of Halin, as it seems likely to be Myanmar's first inscribed site during the convention in 2014. Had this not been the case, it would be inconceivable to spend a day travelling out to this location, through extremely rutted 'roads' that are normally limited to motorbikes and ox-carts.

The local archaeology department certainly believes that it will be inscribed, and probably the most fascinating aspect of the visit was seeing the site staff in 'UNESCO preparation mode'. A museum was being literally built in front of us, with the small existing part filled with artifacts in plastic bags. Staff were categorising them with photos, and assembling a large table-map of the area. They seemed a bit flustered to have foreigners barging in, but happily charged us for a $5 entrance ticket. An English language brochure was supplied, with 'UNESCO nominated world heritage list' as the initial heading. This was obviously new, as was the English language signage on the building.

The actual site is spread across a large area of peanut farms, with a few dozen specific areas of excavation. These are not impressive ruins like more famous ancient cities or temples, but instead foundations of walls and monuments, slightly rebuilt to about knee height. This is not to say they are not interesting, but do not expect to be awed at first glance.

More shocking were the sites of human burials, but not for …

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