BANGKOK: Thailand’s gold rings, estimated to be around 2,000 years old, were found with human bones at a new archaeological site in Phetchaburi province, officials said.
Thailand’s Fine Arts Department said the rings were discovered during an excavation at the Don Yai Thong archaeological site last week.
One gold ring found Thursday was engraved with characters believed to be Brahmi script, an ancient Indian writing system, according to the department.
An initial expert assessment read the inscription as “pusarakhitasa,” meaning “the one protected by Pushya,” the department said.
Pushya is regarded as one of the most auspicious zodiac signs in Indian astronomy. The second ring found with the same skeletal remains was a plain gold ring without any pattern.
The Fine Arts Department said experts believed the owner may have been a merchant from the Vaishyas group in the ancient Indian caste system.
The Don Yai Thong site, about 80 miles southwest of Bangkok, was discovered early this year after residents found pieces of ancient bronze drums in a rice field.
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Officials dated the site to Thailand’s late prehistoric period, also known as the Iron Age, about 1,500 to 2,500 years ago.
Since February, archaeologists have found eight human skeletons, bronze and gold jewellery, pottery and other artefacts at the site.
The department said the finds suggested ceremonial burials of wealthy people or members of upper social classes.
The excavation is expected to be completed in another month, with plans to display the finds to the public, the Fine Arts Department said.
