Mueang U Taphao (Chai Nat)

The archaeological site of U Taphao dates from the late Iron Age to the Dvaravati period. Situated in Manorom district, Chainat province, in close proximity to the river terrace of the Hang Nam Sacorn, a tributary of the Chao Phraya River, it is a sub-round moated site with a surrounding rampart. One remarkable feature is the group of Dvaravati sites located in close proximity. U Taphao therefore, may have functioned as a centre with sites such as Dongkorn, Paikwang, Klong Muai and Bang Phra in Sanburi district being satellites.
That may reflect a settlement hierarchy; however, more research is required to confirm or reject such an hypothesis. The site was excavated in 1988 and 1990 by the Fine Arts Department, providing information about its cultural development from the prehistoric to Ayutthaya periods (Wilaikeo 1991). Dharmachakra, coins with srivatsa motifs, deer figurines, monuments, iron smelting furnaces and the burials were found. While the dharmachakra, srivatsa coins and monuments were thought to represent Dvaravati material culture, the furnaces and burials date from the prehistoric period. [Source: Murphy Pimchanok - Fifty Years of Archaeological Research Dong Mae Nang Muang (JSS_098_0d)]

Ayutthaya Historical Research