Bagan Archaeological Museum is located in

Bagan Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

, Myanmar. It was established in 1904, near the

Ananda Temple The Ananda Temple (, ), located in Bagan, Myanmar is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 AD during the reign (1084–1112/13) of King Kyansittha(Hti-Hlaing Min) of the Pagan Dynasty. The temple layout is cruciform with several terraces leading to a ...

and was reconstructed in 1938. The present-day three-story museum houses a number of rare Bagan period objects including the original

Myazedi inscription Myazedi inscription ( ; also Yazakumar Inscription or the Gubyaukgyi Inscription), inscribed in 1113, is the oldest surviving stone inscription of the Burmese language. "Myazedi" means "emerald stupa" ("zedi" being akin to the Pali "cetiya" and Tha ...

s, the

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts ...

of Burma.

History

In 1901, the Governor General of India arrived in the Bagan region to prevent the destruction of ancient art works and ancient religious buildings.

Emanuel Forchhammer Emanuel Forchhammer (12 March 1851 - April 26, 1890) was a Swiss indologist, Pali, Pāli specialist, orientalist and the first professor of Pali in Rangoon University, Rangoon College. He was a pioneer in Burmese Archaeology. Life Forchhammer was ...

, a professor of Pali at

Rangoon College The University of Yangon (also Yangon University; , ; formerly Rangoon College, University of Rangoon and Rangoon Arts and Sciences University), located in Kamayut, Yangon, is the oldest university in Myanmar's modern education system and the b ...

, was entrusted with the task of preserving it. In 1902, Taw Sein Ko, head of the Department of Inscriptions and Stones (now the Department of Archaeology), collected ancient stone inscriptions and artifacts from around Bagan. To display them, a small museum was built in 1903 to the north of the

, where ancient stone inscriptions were displayed. The museum was reconstructed in 1937-38. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the museum's artifacts were buried underground to preserve them from damage. When Myanmar became independent, the Ministry of Culture started managing the museum. In 1952, the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: * Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) * Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) * Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)Ministry o ...

was established, which led efforts to unearth the artifacts. The new museum was opened in 1954. A new octagonal-shaped museum building was constructed in 1979. In 1995, the present-day four-storey building was established. The museum opened on 17 April 1998. At the time of the construction of the building, the previous octagonal museum was kept, and the office of the Department of Archeology next to it was dismantled. According to State media report, a total of 295,284 local and foreign travellers visited the Bagan Archaeological Museum in the 2018-2019 fiscal year.

Featured galleries

The galleries on display at the Bagan Archaeological Museum are: *Special gallery *Pagan Art Gallery *Pagan period architecture gallery *Pagan life gallery *Pagan period literature gallery *Pagan period Buddha statues *Pagan period mural art gallery

References

External links

* {{authority control 1904 establishments in Burma Archaeological museums Bagan Buildings and structures in Mandalay Region Museums established in 1904 Museums in Myanmar