Wiang Kum Kam

One of the residents of Chediview, Anne from Portland, spends a lot of time in Thailand and is a font of information. She keeps a room in the Guesthouse year round as well as a house in Chiang Dao. I'd gotten many recommendations from her, all good, so when she offered to accompany me to see the ancient city of Wiang Kum Kam I readily agreed. It was a 20min ride to the south of Chiang Mai following the Ping River.

According to history King Mangrai relocated the capital of the Lanna Kingdom from Chiang Rai to the old city of Wiang Kum Kam on the banks of the Ping River in 1288. Whilst the new riverside location offered many advantages, the area was low-lying and prone to severe seasonal flooding.

By 1296, King Mangrai had chosen a new site for his capital on the higher opposite bank of the Ping River and declared the newly constructed city of Chiang Mai as the capital of the Lanna kingdom. Years of flooding thereafter left Wiang Kum Kam buried metres underground.

In 1984 Thai authorities were alerted to the discovery of a number of ancient tablets found under Wat Chang Kam just 5km south east of the Chiang Mai metropolitan area. Archaeologists quickly moved in and uncovered the remains of the ancient lost city of Wiang Kum Kam.

Over thirty archaeological sites including many ancient temples were found within the ancient rectangular shaped city wall and just beyond. Finds excavated at the Wiang Kum Kam site suggest that there had been a long history of settlement in the area dating back to the Eighth century.

The various excavations are scattered around a lovely residential area and we spent a couple of hours cycling from one to the other through the quiet lanes.