A human entrance to the Bagan Palace buried under bushes has been discovered during the dredging of the eastern moat, according to the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan branch) under the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture.
The gate to the palace, which was buried under bushes, will be properly preserved after the work of clearing and surveying, said U Kyaw Myo Win, director of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum (Bagan branch).
“We have been dredging the eastern moat. While dredging, we found a small entrance about the height of a man. Bushes had covered it for many years. We are going to clear the area, dredge the moat, and, after checking, carry out preservation works. Our engineers are now taking a survey. We need to do more research works. It was discovered while clearing. No carts or cars can pass through this entrance. It was meant for persons only. It seems to be for a tightened security purpose, as you can enter the palace directly through this gate.
The structure seems to aim for the people to climb up by keeping abreast of the moat till the entrance to line up to enter, so the design is supposed to allow the people to queue horizontally from the moat. We will restore this entrance properly,” he said.
In addition, the reclamation of ancient lakes is also underway, with priority given to the villages facing water scarcity.
“We are digging the lakes, giving priority to supplying water to the villages with water shortages. But we cannot do it recklessly in the places near the pagodas. These lakes are being dredged under close monitoring by our department without affecting the authentic structure. Structures like the embankments will be preserved in their original forms,” he explained about the dredging of the lakes. — MT/ZN
