Ban Chiang Travel Guide
The most sought-after site in Thailand's Udon Thani province, Ban Chiang gained UNESCO World Heritage status in the early 1990s. It is essentially a showroom for ancient ceramics, which are visible in various stages of excavation.
- Worth It?
- Anyone with an interest in archeology and Southeast Asian history will want to check out Ban Chiang.
- What to Do
- visit the excavation site.
- Best Time to Go
- during the cool and dry season from November to early February.
- How Long?
- A day is enough to see the excavation.
- Trivia
- the excavation at Ban Chiang forced the scientific community to redraw timelines on the Southeast Asian Bronze Age.
The site was discovered by a clumsy Harvard student named Stephen Young. Working toward a thesis in the 1960s, Young was in Ban Chiang interviewing locals when he tripped over a crooked tree root and practically fell on top of a protruding, crimson ceramic piece. He sent it off for analysis, and excavations began soon after.
The UNESCO selection committee went so far as to declare Ban Chiang the most important prehistoric site discovered in Southeast Asia so travelers with a penchant for archeology will find a visit well worth their while. Some of the artifacts unearthed here are a staggering 7,000 years old.
Travel to Ban Chiang - Getting There
Ban Chiang is well connected to Udon Thani, and transferring between the two cities takes less than an hour by hire car, taxi or minivan. Udon Thani is a one-hour flight from Bangkok, which is the Southeast Asian gateway for most international passengers.
Ban Chiang Things to Do
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