Discussion and Conclusion
There were four archaeological excavations in the Thonburi area.
The knowledge gained from the information and evidences from the
archaeological excavation comprised the following important topics:
1) The pedestal of Wichai Prasit Fort had the characteristics of
construction of bricks laid down with similar sizes. Such technical
methods were the same for the construction of the fortress of Krom
Phrarajawanglang palace, which might support the idea of Somdet Prajao
Borromwongter Krompraya Damrong Raja Nubhab that the fortress
of Krom Phrarajawanglang palace had once been the north east fort of
Thonburi city during the Thonburi period.
2) The original floor of people who lived in the Thonburi area
in the past might be beneath the current ground surface by some 100-
120 cm based on the analysis of the archaeological evidence from the
excavation at the former Thonburi train station
3) The city wall of Thonburi had an estimated width of 1.80
meters and the distance from Thonburi moat was 25 meters. In the past,
the estimated width of Thonburi moat was thought to have been 10-11
meters based on digging of the Former Thonburi city moat and the city
wall of Thonburi in the area of Khong Ban Khamin.
4) Pong Pajjamit Fort constructed in the reign of RamaIV had
much more advanced technology with regard to its construction than
the fort of the Thonburi period. It used large logs and timbers for load
bearing the weight of the pedestal.
The current study of Thonburi archaeology can be concluded as
follows:
1) An in-depth study and research of the archeology has not yet
been conducted. The aforementioned study of the Thonburi area was
carried out to gather evidence before any construction work took place
to develop or improve the area.
2) The current study relied on archaeological excavations to
seek information and evidence under the ground of each site but more
research would need to be done to link archaeological evidence with
historical documentation.
3) All of the archaeological excavations were considered as
salvage archaeology or salvage of archaeological evidence before the
archaeological sites were destroyed in order to develop, conserve, or
improve knowledge regarding historic activities at these sites. All four
places were considered as part of the original excavation plan before the
improvement of two places such as the pedestal excavation of Wichai
Prasit Fort and the archaeological excavation of the former Thonburi
moat (Khong Ban Khamin). The other two locations were identified
during the construction of the buildings and the construction had to
be suspended for the archaeological examination to be conducted. For
example, the archaeological survey and excavation in the area of the
former Thonburi train station had the objective to examine the area
before the new building of Siriraj Hospital could commence. The archaeological excavation of the pedestal of Pong Pajjamit Fort began
after Khong San District Office dug the soil in order to stick the pedestal
and they subsequently found many logs under the ground.
4) No excavation was determined by the area and objective for
in-depth study. The current information and evidence gained from the
excavation was derived from the salvage area. Some artifacts were
excavated when digging during the construction preparation period.
Therefore, identifying the positions where items were found and the
study and analysis of the area could not be done.
5) There were also few archaeological sites compared to the 4
places of Thonburi area as mentioned above.
6) The archaeological excavation in the Thonburi area at the
Chaopraya Riverside has been limited, especially the extent of the city
wall of Thonburi moat. It was the important position of the city and the
edge of the area had never been excavated to study and research the
settlement of people who lived outside Thonburi.
7) The archaeological excavation in the Thonburi area was
limited to the study of the city wall and the fort. While the settlement
of people who lived in many nearby areas was an important topic, no
archaeological excavation could be responded to with regard to this
topic.
8) An excavation report on the identification of the archaeological
sites was published, but no further information or evidence was gathered
to further our knowledge of the history of the Thonburi area.
As mentioned above, there are few archaeological studies
at present. If the Thonburi archaeological study were conducted
systematically, the image of Thonburi in the past would become clearer.
Therefore, archaeological evidence in Thonburi is the empirical evidence
to prove and examine historical documents based on existing knowledge,
including enhancing knowledge of many overlooked or missed issues.
The monuments found were evidence to confirm the true locations of
important historical sites. The artifacts were the images of people’s lives in the past. Studying soil layers demonstrated the clearness of the original
areas. Therefore, archaeologists should understand the archaeological
evidence in the complicated periods and integrate the archaeological
knowledge into many sciences in order to enhance the story of people
in the past, which is the main target of the archaeological mission.