The city of Tagaung is situated in Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Division and if you look to the west of Tagaung, there is the ever-flowing Ayeyawaddy River with the lush and green MinWun Mountain Range in the back.
At present, the Archaeology Department has been unearthing ancient cultural artifacts under a project, after designating Tagaung as a cultural zone. The findings include artifacts and ancient city walls of Pyu Period from the 5th to 8th century.
A team led by Professor Daw Yi Yi Aung of Archaeology Department of Yangon University made a field trip to Tagaung.
The findings include three city walls of Tagaung.
(1) The trout-shaped city wall near the Ayeyawaddy River and Talarwa Creek.
(2) Old Bagan City of rectangular city wall in south of the present city wall of Tagaung and
(3) A big city wall enveloping the above-mentioned two city walls.
Four Buddha images and a big repository hall appeared from a brick-pile formed by the collapse a large pagoda, in the east of Shwezigon Pagoda, Tagaung. These Buddha Image are called Lay Myat Hna Phaya. In the precinct tiles and votive tablets were excavated. The Ministry of Culture made arrangements to build a roof over it and carry on excavation work. At SinHnyatkone village, 6 miles south of Tagaung, which can be reached by waterway from Tagaung, urns, goglets, earth beads and tiles were unearthed.
Artifacts which include stone weapons from the Stone Age, Braminy-shaped weights and lion-shaped weights from the Bronze Age, iron wares from the Iron Age, beads from the Pyu Era, coins, and different kinds of old smoking pipes were also found at KyaHnyat village, -- miles from Tagaung.
Bateephyu village located between Tagaung and KyaHnyat village. There a large and iron furnace called Bagan Nga Kywe, with a width of 5ft 6inches and a height of 3ft and another old iron furnace with only parts of the month of the furnace remaining were also unearthed.
And at that village ancient beads of Pyu era were excavated at a site where once stood an ancient Pyu cemetery.
Near Lay MyatHna Phaya, there is a small cultural museum where collected artifacts found in Tagaung and its surrounding villages are on display. There, visitors can view tiles with handprints on them, Buddha images, heads from the Buddha images, various-shaped votive tablets, brick-tiles, goglets, urns from the Pyu Era, stone inscriptions, short smoking pipes and iron wares.
Moreover, a museum was built where findings from the high school compound where urns from the Pyu Era and goglets were kept. It is called No. 31 hill. The excavated pots are designed in shapes of different items such as lotus flowers, lotus buds, sunflowers, leaves which shells, an alms bowl, a roses, flower-vase and so on. Students in the expedition team were given teachers and practical work regarding, ancient artifacts.
On reviewing and accessing the findings from the expedition it was found that many brick tiles with hand-prints designs which are said to be from the Pyu Era were found in the city of Tagaung and other Pyu cities. Thus the artifacts and ancient furnaces found in the vicinity of Tagaung can be said to be above ground artifacts of the Pyu Era. So, we can say Tagaung and its Surrounding areas hold not only Phy era artifacts, but also artifacts from the stone, Bronze and Iron Age.
