Ancient site · City
Beikthano
Also known as Pyu Ancient Cities
Beikthano, near Taungdwingyi in Myanmar's dry zone, is one of the earliest walled cities of the Pyu, a people of the Irrawaddy valley. Its name means 'Vishnu city'.
Excavations found brick walls about six metres thick, radiocarbon dated between about 180 BCE and 610 CE, along with buildings, pottery and human burials in a landscape of irrigated fields. Its earliest remains date to around 200 BCE to 100 CE, making it one of the oldest cities in Southeast Asia. With Halin and Sri Ksetra it forms the Pyu Ancient Cities World Heritage Site, listed in 2014.
- Dates
- c. 200 BCE – 6th century CE
- Still standing
- Yes
- UNESCO World Heritage
- Yes
- Location
- 20.00° N, 95.38° E
How we know
Beikthano is dated by radiocarbon on its walls and buildings; the later Pyu cities left inscriptions, but few written records survive from Beikthano itself.
Nearby sites
- Spirit Cave c. 12,000–7,000 radiocarbon years ago (very roughly 10,000–5500 BCE)
- Plain of Jars jars placed perhaps c. 1240–660 BCE; burials at Site 1 8th–13th centuries CE
- Ban Chiang c. 2000 or 1500 BCE – c. 200 CE (start date disputed)
- Hathigumpha inscription, Udayagiri c. 1st century BCE (from the style of its letters)
- Đông Sơn c. 1000 BCE – 1st century CE (culture)
- Cổ Loa Citadel c. 4th–2nd century BCE