This is a diorama of an ancient Ban Chiang lady painting pots at the Ban Chiang National Museum
Wat Pho Si Nai is about a kilometer away from the Ban Chiang Museum - it is the only original archaeological site in a cluster that has not been built on by the encroachment of the village, and well worth a visit. The site shows how pots were buried with people during funeral rites.
US legal case[edit]
The site made headlines in January 2008 when thousands of artifacts from the Ban Chiang cultural tradition and other prehistoric traditions of Thailand were found to illegally be in several California museums and other locations. The plot involved smuggling the items into the country and then donating them to the museums in order to claim large tax write offs. There were said to be more items in the museums than at the site itself. This was brought to light during high profile raids conducted by the police after a National Park Service agent had posed under cover as a private collector. If the US government wins its case, which is likely to take several years of litigation, the artifacts are to be returned to Thailand.[4] In 2014 the case was won and the artifacts were to be returned [5]
Sources[edit]
Black ceramic jar, Ban Chiang culture, Thailand, 1200-800 BCE