09.04.2025 (12:01 PM) Htate See

The Department of Archaeology and National Museums has announced that excavations are continuing at the ancient city of Inwa that was exposed by the earthquake.

The Department has announced the status of the discovery of the Thayet Kin Ladder and the Water Palace in the ancient city of Inwa, which has been circulating on social media.

The place where the ancient cultural artifacts were discovered due to the earthquake is in the ancient city of Inwa, Tada U Township, Mandalay Region.

The Thayet Kin Ladder was discovered in 2009 when locals were making bricks, so the Department of Archaeology and National Museums has preserved it. The Department announced that the cultural relics associated with the previously discovered ladder were discovered through cracks due to the strong earthquake that struck on March 28.

As a result, on April 6, the Mandalay Branch conducted a trial excavation and discovered the Thayet Kin Ladder, the north arm of the eastern Thayet Kin Ladder, and the elephant-shaped brick pedestal. The length of the pannet brick pedestal is 10 feet 6 inches, Depth 3 feet 8 inches, angle of foundation 2 feet 6 inches, stairs from the foundation 18 inches, angle of arm 8 inches, end of the stairs from the foundation 11 feet 4 inches have been excavated and excavation research is ongoing.

According to recent excavation findings, it is not a large building with many buildings like the water palace found in the Purapaik drawings, and it is possible that it is a building with a length of 200 to 250 feet and a width of about 200 feet and a staircase with wooden pillars connected together. The closest comparison is that it is a building with 8 to 10 or more staircases like the Inwa Bhakta Wooden Temple and the Shwenandaw Temple in Mandalay. It is more likely that it was a building used to watch the water-related festivals and ceremonies held by ancient Burmese kings. It should be called the Water Palace rather than the Water Palace. In summary, the Department of Archaeology and National Museums has concluded that the initial findings suggest that it is unlikely that the palace, which contains large chambers like the Water Palace in Purapyak, was built.

The Department announced that it will systematically identify and preserve the cultural heritage of the Inwa period that was exposed by the earthquake and make it available for public study.