Beikthano Ancient Museum

Not that much to see. A great place to feel the Ancient way of living. Not that much has been changed unlike Bagan.

A variety of acient artifacts from BC. time, a hospitable attendants. Highly recommended.

Must be visited ancient place and museum due to historical atmosphere you feel

Beikthano😇 Ancient sites in Myanmar are generally associated with fabulous traditions and folklore handed down from generation to generation since ages past. Beikthano is not an exception. It is traditionally believed to have been founded some 2,400 years ago by Princess Panhtwar descended from a still legendary dynasty of Tagaung in Upper Myanmar. The fall of the city is attributed to a mightier king, Duttabaung of Sri Ksetra, who sacked the city, subdued the princess, took her captive and eventually married her. In the present stage of historical research in this country, the personalities characterized in the legend are beyond authentic identification. However, the existence of an ancient city called Beikthano (Vishnu City) is testified by the ruins which stand to this day and indicates that the legend may have sprung up from a nucleus of true facts. The history, devotion as well as the massive ruin remain until now making it one of the best places to discover for adventurers in Myanmar tour. The ruins lying twelve miles west of Taungdwingyi in Magwe district are not easily recognized by casual passers-by but the elderly local people remember that the fort walls stood much higher than now about half a century ago before the bricks were quarried for building roads and railway tracks. Apart from the interesting tale of the city, the local people could give no proper account of the city complex and the urn burials which they often discover in and around the city walls. In fact, its character, its culture, and its past life and glory remained shrouded under a misty veil of myth and legend till recently when archaeological excavations were conducted. The excavations, though limited to twenty-five selected sites during six open seasons, reveal that the cultural equipment of the site is essentially Pyu in character. Masonry structures with massive walls constructed of large-sized bricks, uninscribed silver coins bearing symbols of prosperity and good-luck, burial urns of plain and exquisite designs, beads of clay and semi-precious stones, decorated domestic pottery, iron nails and bosses are among the finds which reveal convincing cultural links between Beikthano and the established Pyu site of Sri Ksetra. The significant absence of Buddhist statuary and relics and of Pyu inscriptions lend support to fix Beikthano culture at an earlier stage of Pyu chronology. The city wall is shaped more or less like a rhombus, each side measuring about two miles. The western side has almost completely eroded and the other sides have crumbled down by natural decay as well as human depredation. Internal projections of the wall, clearly visible on the north and south sides, which at first seemed to be debris mounds of bastions proved to be gateways on excavating them. The peculiarity of these gateways is that the fort walls curve gradually inwards instead of making square turns at the entrance. The arms or ramparts on either side of the entrance passage extend to about 86 feet. Charred remains of a wooden gate in each of the passages flanked by the arms were discovered together with rusted iron sockets on which the gates were originally swung. All such gates were not excavated but it is apparent that the traditional enumeration of twelve main gates through the entire perimeter of the brick fortification sounds true. Within the fort walls lies a rectangular brick enclosure known as the palace site.

Foreigner interested that place due to historical place in Myanmar. A lot of historical items are shown in that museum. Environment is nice and confort place.