Natural degradation of earthworks, trenches, walls and moats, Northern Thailand

Bibliographic Data

ID11073066
AuthorsSpencer H Wood (Boise State University, corresponding author), Layle R Wood (Boise Bible College), Alan D Ziegler (0000-0001-5305-2136, National University of Singapore)
Year2015
Volume40
Issue6
Pages675-694
Publication date2015-11-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Field Archaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-4690 • E-ISSN: 2042-4582
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00934690.2015.1103645
OpenAlexW2211271932
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited26

“...........structures of this kind are hidden away securely under the thick overgrowth: thus does nature preserve what man would surely destroy” (from Sumet Jumsai, 1970) We investigate the geometry, age, and history of several enigmatic northern Thailand earthwork entrenchments that are mostly located on hills and could not have held water to form moats. The earthworks are either oval or rectangular in map view; and they typically encircle 0.3-to-1-km2 areas that do not have potsherd debris indicative of former towns. Most trenches are 3-5 m deep with inner walls 4.5-8 m high. Some encircling earthworks are concentric double trenches spaced approximately 10 m apart. Historians have suggested these earthworks enclosed defensible areas where people in outlying villages sought refuge when under attack by neighboring rulers, the Chinese Ho, or the Burmese. We believe that some encircling entrenchments may have been for the capture or containment of elephants. Nearly all of the once near-vertical original walls have degraded to slopes of 32-47°. Fitting calculated curves of the diffusion-based scarp-degradation model to our height-slope data, and assuming most scarps have degraded since the end of La Na Kingdom time A.D. 1558. We derive a diffusion coefficient of 0.002 m2 y-1. Slopes of the rectangular earthwork at Souvannkhomkham, Laos, across the Mekong River from Chiang Saen Noi, are significantly more degraded (approximately 32°), indicating an age of 800-1200 years. Locations of these earthworks are established in hope that they will be preserved as part of the Thai and Lao archaeological legacy

Archaeology · Berm · Earthworks · Excavation · Fault scarp · Geography · Geomorphology · Geotechnical engineering · Hydrology (agriculture · Tectonics · Geology · Hydrology and Sediment Transport Processes · Landslides and related hazards · Paleontology · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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