 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (July 2022) |
เขาสามแก้ว | |
 Map of the site of Khao Sam Kaeo showing the four hills that make up the site. Red lines denote earthen walls at the site | |
 | |
  Location in Thailand | |
| Location | Mueang Chumphon district, Chumphon, Thailand |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 10°31′38″N 99°10′55″E / 10.5272°N 99.1820°E |
| Altitude | 650 m (2,133 ft) |
| Type | Human settlement |
| Area | 0.54 square kilometres (54 ha) |
| History | |
| Founded | c. 400-100 BCE |
| Periods | Ancient history |
| Cultures | Proto-Dvaravati |
| Associated with | Mon people |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 2005 |
| Archaeologists | French National Centre for Scientific Research |
| Condition | Partial restoration |
| Ownership | Public |
| Management | Fine Arts Department, no entry fee |
| Public access | Yes |
| Architecture | |
| Architectural styles | Proto-Dvaravati |
Khao Sam Kaeo (Thai: เขาสามแก้ว) is an archaeological site in Thailand's Chumphon province. It is located in Na Cha-ang subdistrict of Mueang Chumphon district, just north of the town of Chumphon, on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula, at the Kra Isthmus.[1] Dated 400–100 BCE,[2] Khao Sam Kaeo served as an extremely important port, as well as a crossroads for Asian connection and interaction, as it sat between the cultural regions of the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal.[3] There is evidence that material had come from the South China Sea, the Philippines, and Taiwan—all part of the maritime silk road of the time—proving the important technological and cultural connections between the site and these locations. This not only reveals the fact that people from across Asia ended up in Khao Sam Kaeo, but it also supports the idea that there was a transfer of ideas.[3] When reviewing the material culture found at Khao Sam Kaeo, the transfer of ideas and trans-Asian connection becomes abundantly clear, especially when looking at ceramics, stone adzes, pendants, and jewelry.[3] Data and research also point to the idea that foreign craftsmen stayed for long periods of time at Khao Sam Kaeo. Pottery and stone works made in an Indian technical style yet supposedly made locally support this idea.[3] Collectively, evidence regarding material culture, raw materials, and biological data support the idea that the connections made at Khao Sam Kaeo were more than just trade and diffusion.
- ^ Bellina-Pryce, Bérénice; Silapanth, Praon (2006). "Weaving cultural identities on trans-Asiatic networks: Upper Thai-Malay Peninsula–an early socio-political landscape". Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient. 93: 257–293. doi:10.3406/befeo.2006.6039. ISSN 0336-1519. JSTOR 43734048.
- ^ Castillo, Cristina (2011-11-24). "Rice in Thailand: The Archaeobotanical Contribution". Rice. 4 (3–4): 114–120. doi:10.1007/s12284-011-9070-2. ISSN 1939-8425. S2CID 32909233.
- ^ a b c d Demandt, Michèle H. S. (2019). "Khao Sam Kaeo: An Early Port-City between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea ed. by Bérénice Bellina". Asian Perspectives. 58 (2): 409–412. doi:10.1353/asi.2019.0024. ISSN 1535-8283. S2CID 208620743.