Research & Article

Phū Phra Bāt, in the Phū Phān Mountains of Udon Thani, has an archaeological site over a sandstone cliff. The site’s rock-shelters retain traces, such as rock paintings, of prehistoric human activities. The site was later occupied by Buddhist communities in the 8th to 10th centuries, showing examples of Dvāravatī art, and again in 11th to 13th centuries as well as the 16th to 17th centuries. Phū Phra Bāt presents an example of the transformation of pre- and proto-historic sites into Buddhist ecclesiastical places. Although now a national reserve, Phū Phra Bāt remains a site of pilgrimage.