Meung Paniead Historic Park

Historical BackgroundPaniead is an ancient community where found archeological evidences. History from a Khmer inscription which dated back to 800-1000 B.E has it that the area around Paniead Historical Park was previously where Chantaburi City was located in the early era. The Khmer consider the city as an important origin of civilization for Kingdom of Cambodia and the ruler of the city governed independently. Paniead also had relations with India , aand that results in the acquisition of Indian cultures that people adapted to use in their daily lives. Since the location was where the barks have to pass by in order to go to trade with China and India, thus the local people are the Chong and the Khmer. General InformationThe area is a slope directing to the low plain around the Chantaburi River where Lam Narai canal and Sra Barb canal , which run from Sra Barb mountain, meet with the Chanthaburi River. These waterways were the important transportation routes in the past. They also brought fertility for cultivation and created the appropriate environment for the building of community which could presumably be a big one because of the size of the ancient city and the large amount of found objects coming from various eras. The city plan of Meung Paniead Historic Park is rectangle with 1,000 meters in width and 2,00 meters in length. Almost all of the city’s wall and the ditch are leveled down, so they cannot be seen in the present. What still remains are the levee in the south of the city which is 3 meters in height and 50 meters in length. For the levee in the north, some parts of it was formerly cut down by the construction of Sukhumvit Road. Nowadays, the area inside the ancient city is the location for houses and farming. In the east of the city, most of the area is unearthed for orchards and the lowland in the west lays paddy fields. Next to the east wall is a basin which is the location of Baan Saladaeng and in the rainy season, it will become a wide wetland.Evidence Found1. The 1st Paniead inscription, which is 49 centimeters wide, 47 centimeters long and 16.5 centimeters thick, is made of sand stone and inscribed with ancient Khmer alphabets, Sanskrit and Khmer. In the present, it is kept in Vajirayan Royal Libary of National Library in Bangkok2. Antiques which are carved stones in patterns and pictures such as, lunar eclipse, graven image or Ramasoon, the god of thunder, and fractions of tureens. In the present, they are kept in Thong Thua Temple.Direction to Paniead CityFrom Chanthaburi Province’s downtown, drive on Sukhumvit Road ( highway no.3) for approximately 3 kilometers ,then turn right to Muu Baan Paniead (Paniead Village) and Thong Thua Temple entrance and drive straight ahead for 1 kilometer. Paniead Historic Park is situated 300 meters south east of Thong Thua Temple.