Archaeologists Lift One-Ton Soil Block to Preserve Ancient Skeletons
Archaeologists in Phetchaburi are carefully lifting a one-ton soil block to extract four ancient skulls, estimated 1,500–2,000 years old, from the Don Yai Thong site where recent discoveries include bronze drums and gold rings with inscript
PHETCHABURI — Archaeologists are preparing to lift a soil block weighing more than one tonne to safely remove the skulls of four ancient human skeletons, estimated to be 1,500–2,000 years old, from the Don Yai Thong archaeological site in Phetchaburi province.
The operation is being carried out by archaeologists from the Fine Arts Office 1 in Ratchaburi, working with conservation scientists from the Office of National Museums under the Fine Arts Department.
Reporters visited the excavation site at Ban Don Phlap, Moo 6, Samo Phlue subdistrict, Ban Lat district, on 15 July 2026, where excavations have continued since early July.
The site has already yielded four bronze drums, animal jawbones believed to belong to cattle or buffalo, and ancient human skeletons. On 2 July 2026, archaeologists also uncovered two gold rings. One bears a Brahmi inscription reading "Pusarakhitasa," meaning "one protected by the auspicious Pushya star."
According to Dr Uthen Wongsathit of Silpakorn University's Faculty of Archaeology, a specialist in ancient languages, the inscription is believed to date from the 5th–7th Buddhist centuries, or approximately 1,900–2,100 years ago.
The latest phase of the excavation focuses on Skeletons 1–4, whose skulls remain in the ground beneath ancient bronze ornaments covering the cranium. Other skeletal parts, including the torso, arms and legs, were removed earlier.
To prevent the fragile remains from breaking apart, the team is excavating around the skulls to create a rectangular soil block about 40–50 centimetres deep. Polyurethane (PU) foam is being applied on all four sides to stabilise the soil.
Workers are also digging beneath the block to insert a precast concrete slab, which will support the base before additional PU foam is injected underneath. Once reinforced, the entire soil block, together with the concrete base, will be lifted intact.
Archaeologists estimate the combined weight of the soil block and supporting slab at just over one tonne.
The work has proven particularly challenging because the first group of skeletons lies close to another burial containing Skeletons 5–8. Muddy ground conditions and groundwater continually seeping into the excavation pit have further complicated the delicate operation.
