Research & Article

On June 1st, 1902, Prince Narisranuvattivongse visited a cave near the town of Tang after being informed by a local headman of an inscription painted on the cave wall; this article outlines the Prince’s findings and provides a comprehensive understanding of the discovered text. Beginning with a description of the cave, the article goes on to outline the specifics of the painting inscription, as well as its historical context and relation to contemporary writing systems. Due to the deterioration of the text since 1902, recent interpretations of the text’s meaning rely heavily on Prince Narisranuvattivongse’s transcript.