Ancient Indian gold rings found in Phetchaburi archaeological site

Archaeologists from the Fine Arts Department have discovered two ancient Indian gold rings, thought to be between 1,900-2,100 years old, during a dig at the Don Yai Thong archaeological site in Ban Lat district of Phetchaburi province.

According to the department’s director general, Phanombut Chantarachoti, the archaeologists were sifting through pieces of ancient human bones and artifacts when they came across the two gold rings, one of which was inscribed with ancient Indian script.

Dr. U-Tain Wongsathit, dean of the Faculty of Archaeology at Silpakorn University, who is an expert in ancient scripts, is reported to have said that the inscription on the ring is believed to be in ancient Brahmi and to have belonged to a merchant caste in India.

According to the department, other artifacts and ancient decorative items, bearing the ancient Brahmi script, have been found in other archaeological sites in Klong Thom district of Krabi province and Khao Sam Kaeo in Chumphon province.

The two gold rings are now being kept at the Phra Nakhon Khiri museum in Ratchaburi province.

Regarding the bronze container and the human bones found during the dig in Phetchaburi, which are assumed have belonged to a child, the department said that the whole block of earth will be dug up by an excavator in order to preserve the human skeletal remains, adding that this process will take about a month.

As the site is being threatened by underground water and rainfall, which affect the bronze artifacts and human bones, officials have sped up the collection process to protect them.

A public exhibition of the artifacts unearthed at the Don Yai Thong site will be held in the near future, before they are removed for research and preservation.