A Survey of the Sriksetra Pyu Archaeological site in Myanmar

Sriksetra is the largest and latest Pyu city, once the capital of unified sovereign of early Myanmar might have been entitled it in Sanskrit and in Myanmar called as Thaye Khittya means “Field of Glory” or “Auspicious Land”. Many accounts about Srikshetra were described in the traditional chronicles in which briefly says- the founders of Srikshetra were the descendants of Tagaung in the north, upper Ayeyarwaddy region, – during the time of King Duttabaung (101st year of Buddhist Era, some two thousand four hundred years ago) the city of Srikshetra was founded, – the 25 kings are accounted with their reign for about 600 years, – the establishing religious building dedicated to Buddhism by royal patronage, – after the occasion of city-chaos by the foreign invasion there broke down unification and happened tribal conflict, – from which the main national groups of Pyu, Kanyan and Myanmar moved to the other regions and resided with together the indigenous inhabitants.

Kyaw Myo Win is the site manager of Sri Ksetra UNESCO World Heritage Site. He joined the Department of Archaeology in 1995, and has excavated over 40 sites in Myanmar, including Sri Ksetra, Miangmaw, Wadee, and Beikthano. He also excavated Winka in Mon state, which are crucial to understanding port polities, early settlement, and the relationship between Mon and Pyu culture. He has also surveyed archaeological landscapes in Rakhine state. Kyaw Myo Win specialises in the application of GPS survey and GIS mapping. He is a leading authority in Myanmar on heritage management and conservation.