Thailand hunts for missing ancient site treasures

[snoop1130]

 

Si Thep, Thailand – Under the scorching sun, Thai archaeologist Tanachaya Tiandee clambers through ruined pagodas in the ancient town of Si Thep, trying to unlock their mysteries — a task made harder because many of the clues are missing.

 

Looters stripped Thailand’s rich historical sites such as Si Thep over decades, taking many items abroad. The kingdom is now trying to repatriate those stolen cultural treasures.

 

“The big picture like the building was discovered, but the artefacts which tell little details are missing, making a lot of stories untold about Si Thep,” Tanachaya told AFP. “It’s like a piece of puzzle was missing.”

 

Caption: An aerial view of the Si Thep historical site in Phetchabun province. //AFP

 

Full story: Thai PBS 2023-09-20

 

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[hotchilli]

12 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Si Thep, Thailand – Under the scorching sun, Thai archaeologist Tanachaya Tiandee clambers through ruined pagodas in the ancient town of Si Thep, trying to unlock their mysteries — a task made harder because many of the clues are missing.

Keep digging Sherlock.

[RandolphGB]

The artefacts should be repatriated to Cambodia, if anywhere. It was their forefathers who built the mighty Khmer temples and set the foundations for what become Siam. Thailand takes the credit for these ancient monuments, and mantises them for tourist dollars, but they had zero input. 

[placnx]

6 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

The artefacts should be repatriated to Cambodia, if anywhere. It was their forefathers who built the mighty Khmer temples and set the foundations for what become Siam. Thailand takes the credit for these ancient monuments, and mantises them for tourist dollars, but they had zero input. 

Not sensible at all. The same kind of thinking ended up with the border moved to accommodate Cambodia, to possess a temple located on the top of an escarpment which is otherwise Thai territory. But that was 1962 - the Cold War, and Cambodia's lawyer was a former American foreign minister.

 

Greece is not asking Italy back for art discovered in Greek sites in Sicily (a part of Italy). The Elgin Marbles at the British Museum is another kind of problem.

[HuskerDo2]

17 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

The artefacts should be repatriated to Cambodia, if anywhere. It was their forefathers who built the mighty Khmer temples and set the foundations for what become Siam. Thailand takes the credit for these ancient monuments, and mantises them for tourist dollars, but they had zero input. 

Possession is 9 tenths of the law. 

[bignok]

19 hours ago, RandolphGB said:

The artefacts should be repatriated to Cambodia, if anywhere. It was their forefathers who built the mighty Khmer temples and set the foundations for what become Siam. Thailand takes the credit for these ancient monuments, and mantises them for tourist dollars, but they had zero input. 

Yeah sure give it to dead people. The current lot in Cambodia did zip to build them. Ridiculous argument. If my ancestors 1500 years ago built a building worth $150m now in London can I go claim it? 555