Mueang Sap Champa

Sap Champa Ancient Town is an ancient town from the Dvaravati period. It was found in 1937 in Sap Champa Sub-District of Tha Luang District in Lopburi Province. It is situated on the ridge of the central region's edge and northeast region's edge. It is a 350 rais of bog forest. This ancient town has become well known and was archaeologically investigated in February 1970. The excavation inside the town was held in 1973.

From the investigation, it is the residence of human in prehistoric period due to archaeological evidences such as human's bones, stone bracelets, and potteries which are about 3,000-2,500 years old. Moreover, from the discovery of different branches of Buddhist sculptures such as a Buddha statue sitting on the king of the forest, a Buddha statue with the feet hanging over, the Wheel of the Law, and crouching deer statue, it is assumed that here once was the center of Buddhism.

Sap Champa Ancient City which covers 350 rai. The ancient city was in an oval shape and surrounded by moats like all other cities of the Dvaravati Period (6th-12th centuries). At the site are ruins of structures where numerous Buddha images and human skeletons were unearthed; among pieces of important evidence are stone bracelets, fragments of pottery, Sanskrit-language inscriptions, heads, hands and broken parts of Buddha images, pieces of amulets, the Wheel of Dhamma with a sitting deer sculpture, metal tools and accessories. Archaeological excavations were started by the Fine Arts Office 1 Lop Buri in February 1971.

Sap Champa was probably a major spiritual hub on the Lop Buri-Pa Sak river basin given the discovery of sculptures of various Buddhist sects. For instance, a statue of the Lord Buddha being seated upon on Vanaspati, a creature mixing the features of three Hindu gods' carriers, a seated Buddha statue in the Dvaravati style and a Wheel of Dhamma stone with a deer sculpture reflecting beliefs of Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.

Sap Champa was believed to be a trading hub since archaeological excavations found several kinds of objects brought by traders and travellers. They included terracotta amulets depicting faces of some Indian gods, a bronze statue of Chinese goddess Guan Yin, seals depicting a pot of fertility and seals depicting Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Moreover, some goods like foreign-made bronze containers and beads and Indian elephants' ivory bracelets were unearthed.

Sap Champa might have been a major production source of handicrafts on the Lop Buri-Pa Sak river basin because a number of unfinished stone statues and marble and marlstone used in making rings, earrings and necklaces were found here.

Sap Champa was a production source of pottery and might have even been a family-level industry during the Iron Age around 2,500-1,700 years ago because most pottery found here had been made under the throwing method using outdoor kilns. Tools for decorating the surfaces of pottery were also unearthed there. Certain raw materials for producing pottery here, such as clay, were specially prepared, reflecting the use of high technology.

Ayutthaya Historical Research