Beikthano excavations and the Pyu chronology

Record summary

Investigations at Beikthano contributed to the archaeological study of the Pyu city-states through brick architecture, religious buildings, burials, inscriptions, and settlement remains. Early twentieth-century work helped establish a historical framework connecting the sites with Chinese and later Burmese accounts, while the absolute chronology and cultural relationships among Beikthano, Sri Ksetra, and Halin remained unsettled. This lead can support comparison of urban archaeology, textual correlation, and South Asian influence in mainland Southeast Asia. Field records and later excavations should be consulted together.