Ban Rai Rockshelter - MH0007
19.522805,98.178104
Location
2 km west of Ban Soppong take a side road off the H1095 for 1 km to Ban Rai. A good path follows down the Nam Lang river for 2.5 km to a group of huts 500 m above the final sink. From here the site is a steep 200 m climb up boulder-strewn slopes on the south side of the valley. After the climb a slight dip leads down into the site itself, which is hemmed in by high white cliffs.
Description
A sign board at the site explains the history and archaeology of the site. This is an extremely important archaeological site so please stay out of the marked off areas as you may inadvertently cause irreparable damage to the fragile remains. An eerie, echoeing and foreboding overhang in the form of an amphitheatre 60-80 m high, 50 m wide and depth behind the drip line of up to 20 m, possibly owing its origin to basal sapping. A suite of about 15 coffins is scattered around the site mostly outside the drip line, some decayed and damaged, but many intact in tiers several metres above the ground, the longest being 9.3 m long. There is a small archaeological dig.
Topography
DOLOKWANICH (2000) DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) - ASF Grade 2.2 SHOOCONGDEJ, RASMI (2000) SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) WANNASRI, SINEENART (2004) WANNASRI, SINEENART; PUMIJUMNONG, NATHSUDA; SHOOCONGDEJ, RASMI (2007)
Documents
[Topo] Ban Rai Rockshelter 11/05/2019Bibliography 10/04/2020
- +COATES, KAREN J. (2009) "Mystery of the Log Coffin Culture" Archaeology September/October 2009 pp49-54 +COGGAN, MARJORIE; DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; ANDERSON, NEIL (EDS.) (1999) "Tham Sanuk: The Lighter Side Of Caving In Thailand" Canberra, 76pp +Conrad, Cyler (2015) "Archaeozoology in Mainland Southeast Asia: Changing Methodology and Pleistocene to Holocene Forager Subsistence Patterns in Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia" Open Quaternary Vol. 1 Article 7, 23pp +DE VOOGD, OTTO (2005) "Tham Lod" www.infohub.com/forums/ +DILOKWANICH, S.; ET AL. (2000) "An Exploration and Database System of the Caves, Mae Hong Son Province" 6 Vols. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok - STD52 STD77 +Dunkley, John Robert (1985a) "Karst and Caves of the Nam Lang - Nam Khong Region, North Thailand" Helictite Vol. 23 No. 1 pp3-22 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT (1995) "The Caves of Thailand" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-9-9 +DUNKLEY, JOHN ROBERT; BRUSH, JOHN B. (ED.) (1986) "Caves of North-west Thailand: Report of the Australian Speleological Expeditions 1983-1986" Speleological Research Council, Sydney ISBN 0-9589253-2-1 62pp +Kiernan, Kevin; Spies, John; Dunkley, John Robert (1988) "Prehistoric occupation and burial sites in the mountains of the Nam Khlong area, Mae Hong Son Province, Northwestern Thailand" Australian Archaeology No. 27 pp24-44 +LAMPERT, C. D.; GLOVER, IAN C.; HEDGES, R. E. M.; HERON, C. P.; HIGHAM, TOM F. G.; STERN, B.; SHOOCONGDEJ, RASMI; THOMPSON, G.B. (2003) "Dating Resin Coating on Pottery: The Spirit Cave Early Ceramic Dates Revised" Antiquity Vol. 77 pp126-133 +MARWICK, BEN; GAGAN, MICHAEL K. (2011) "Late Pleistocene monsoon variability in northwest Thailand: an oxygen isotope sequence from the bivalve Margaritanopsis laosensis excavated in Mae Hong Son province" Quaternary Science Reviews Vol. 30 Issues 21-22 pp3088-3098 +Marwick, Ban; Vlack, Hannah G. van; Conrad, Cyler; Shoocongdej, Rasmi; Thongcharoenchaikit, Cholawit; Kwak, Seungki (2017) "Adaptations to sea level change and transitions to agriculture at Khao Toh Chong rockshelter, Peninsular Thailand" Journal of Archaeological Science Vol. 77 DOI 10.1016/j.jas.2016.10.010 pp94-108 +Pumijumnong, Nathsuda; Wannasri, Sineenart (2015) "Teak log coffins in Northwest Thailand: Dated by dendrochronology and 14Cwiggle matching" Applied Environmental Research Vol. 37 No. 2 pp1-16 +SATTHA, CHEEWIN (2008) "Preserving The Past" Bangkok Post 1 March 2008 +Shoocongdej, Rasmi; et al. (2000b) "Archaeology" in "An exploration and database system of caves: Mae Hong Son province" Vol. 4. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok - site 20 +Shoocongdej, Rasmi (2010) "Archaeological Heritage Management at Ban Rai and Tham Lod Rockshelters in Pang Mapha District, Mae Hong Son Province, Northwestern Thailand" Final Report 14pp +SIDISUNTHORN, PINDAR; GARDNER, SIMON; SMART, DEAN (2006) "Caves of Northern Thailand" River Books, Thailand, ISBN 9749863135 +SPIES, JOHN (2000) "Suggestions for Cave Management" in "An Exploration and Database System of Caves: Mae Hong Son Province" Vol. 6. Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University, Bangkok +SPONSEL, LESLIE E.; NATADECHA-SPONSEL, PORANEE (2003) "The Monk-Cave-Bat-Ecosystem Complex in Thailand" in CHAPPEL, DAVID W. (ED.) "Socially Engaged Spirituality: Essays in Honor of Sulak Sivaraksa on his 70th Birthday" Saithirakoses-Nagapradipa Foundation, Bangkok, pp255-270. Reprinted in GOTTLIEB, ROGER S. (2004) "This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature, Environment" Routledge, New York, pp134-144 +SVASTI, PICHAYA (2008) "Digging Up The Past" Bangkok Post Outlook 4 September 2008 +Tan, Noel Hidalgo (2014) "Rock Art Research in Southeast Asia: A Synthesis" Arts Vol. 3 pp73-104 +TREERAYAPIWAT, CHERDSAK (2005) "Patterns of Habitation and Burial Activity in the Ban Rai Rock Shelter, Northwestern Thailand" Asian Perspectives Vol. 44 No. 1 pp231-245 +WANNASRI, SINEENART (2004) "A Dendroarchaeological Study of Log Coffins: Bo Krai Cave and Ban Rai Rockshelter in Pang Mapha District, Mae Hong Son Province" MSc Thesis, Mahidol University, Bangkok 174pp +WANNASRI, SINEENART; PUMIJUMNONG, NATHSUDA; SHOOCONGDEJ, RASMI (2007) "Teak Log Coffin Head Styles in Northern Thailand: Time Sequencing with Dendrochronolgy: ScienceAsia Vol. 33 pp47-56 ***Wipatayotin, Apinya (2018) "Finding common ground" Bangkok Post 11 February 2018
History
The site was excavated by a team from Silpakorn University in 1999-2002. In October 2006 the US Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation made a 1.3 million baht grant to Rasmi Shoocondej of Silpakorn University to support research at this site.
Caves nearby
Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
---|---|---|---|
0.7 | Tham Mae Ga Noi - MH0273 | ||
0.7 | Tham Sop Ngae - MH0303 | ||
1.2 | Cave MH0231 - MH0231 | ||
1.2 | Cave MH0232 - MH0232 | ||
1.2 | Cave MH0233 - MH0233 | ||
1.4 | Nam Lang Old Sink [MH0247] | 150 | 0 |
1.7 | Leopard Cave - MH0018 | 80 | 0 |
1.8 | Nam Bor Phi - MH0017 | 106 | 106 |
2.0 | Coffin Cave MH116 - MH0116 |