Pyu Ancient Cities

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Pyu Ancient Cities: A Thousand Years of Civilization in Myanmar

The Pyu Ancient Cities, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, offer a captivating glimpse into the rich history and culture of Myanmar. Located in the dry zone of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River basin, these ancient cities - Halin, Beikthano, and Sri Ksetra - provide valuable insights into the Pyu Kingdoms that thrived for over a millennium between 200 BC and AD 900.

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UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site

Pyu Ancient Cities includes the remains of three brick, walled and moated cities of Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra located in vast irrigated landscapes in the dry zone of the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River basin. They reflect the Pyu Kingdoms that flourished for over 1,000 years between 200 BC and AD 900. The three cities are partly excavated archaeological sites. Remains include excavated palace citadels, burial grounds and manufacture sites, as well as monumental brick Buddhist stupas, partly standing walls and water management features – some still in use – that underpinned the organized intensive agriculture.

Encyclopedia Record: Pyu city-states

The Pyu city-states were a group of city-states that existed from about the 2nd century BCE to the mid-11th century in present-day Upper Myanmar. These city-states were founded as part of the migration of the Pyu people from Tibet to Mainland Southeast Asia by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu settlers, the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant. The thousand-year period, often referred to as the Pyu millennium, linked the Bronze Age to the beginning of the classical states period when the Pagan Kingdom emerged in the late 9th century.

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