According
to aerial photos Myanmar has
many more ancient capitals yet
to be excavated.
Mekkeya, one old capital of the
14th century, was situated on
the plains of Kyaukse in Sint
Kaing Township, 15 miles south
of Mandalay and a little over
ten miles north of Kyaukse. It
is at the mouths of the Zawgyi
River (once called Mekkeya
River) flowing from the south
across the Kyaukse Plains and
the Myit Nge (or DutDawaddi)
River flowing from the shan
Plateau. Remnants of the city
wall can still be seen.
After the forces of Kublai Khan
invaded the Bagan Empire in
1287, the Tar Tars left a weak
puppet king Kyaw swar on the
throne and withdrew their
forces. Bagan's might fell into
decline.
Within the next twenty-five
years, three brother of shan-Burmese
descent Raza Thingyan, Athin
Khara and Thihathu, who had been
serving at the Bagan court, set
up separate and prosperous
kingdoms with capitals in Pinys,
sagaing and Inwa. However,
before they shifted their
capitals to these places that
rose as landmarks in Myanmar
history, few realise that they
had founded capitals in
Myinsaing, Merkera and Pinlei
towns. Sons of the general and
minister Myinsaing Thingabo,
they had founded new capitals on
the Kyaukse plains far to the
north of Bagan and just south of
what was to be Mandalay in 400
years.
The middle son Athin Khara
founded Mekkeya and he founded
the city not on cleared wild
land but in a place that a town
of some antiquity already
existed.
made
in 1801 the area of the Mekkeya
cit' was 22 miles from east to
west and 18 mile from north to
south. Many natural and man made
lakes such as Son Ye, Thin Taung,
Ta Or Min Hla and shwe Hla Bo
surround the site.
Mekkeya shwezigon, a pagoda
erectel by a later king Uzana (r
1364)with glazet plaques if the
scenes from the Jataka Tale (19)
is 2 furlongs southwest of the
ruined cit) Between this pagoda
and the ruined cit) there are
traces of a Pyu settlement yet
to b, excavated fully.
To
the south of Mekkeya there are
abou five ancient pagodas and in
the middle of th city site there
are about 40 pagodas that wer
built during the successive
Bagan, Inwc Nyaung Yan and
Konbaung eras. The mos famous
and also found in old records
are th shin Bin Yan-m'tway
Pagoda built by the grea
The
ruined palace walls measured 500
yards from north to south and
400 yards from east to west.
There were eight gates plus one
gate for taking out the dead, so
there were nine gates. The walls
had rounded corners just like
the wall~ of ancient Pyu kingdom
of the 2nd to 9th centuries.
According to a survey
King Anawrahta (r. '044- '077)
founder of the Bagan dynasty and
the Shwegu Pagoda donated by
King Bodawpaya (r. '782- '8' 9)
of the Konbaung Dynasty. The
most interesting temple was
donated not by a king but the
family of a wealthy barge owner
of Mon Daw Village in the mid'
9th century. The pagoda is
called Shwe Yaung Daw, and has
enshrined wooden and stucco
images, paintings in gold leaf
of monks, and wall paintings.
There are many legends as to the
antiquity of Mekkeya but the
fact remains that
Top: Lion at Shwe Yaung Daw
Pagoda
Stone Age dwellers had inhabited
the region, for it was founded
close to a Stone Age site of Ei
Pya village. There, chippings of
stone left from cutting weapons
had been found in large piles.
In the vicinity, many stone axes
and stone adzes as well as clay
and shell beads had been found.
Also, seven miles south of
Mekkeya, when the banks of a
stream between Belin and Nabepin
Villages
collapsed,
skeletons, stone tablets, clay
pots and bowls, multi-colour
clay beads as well as bronze
bracelets and spearheads were
found.
The Abbot of the Maha Gandayon
Monastery of Kyaukse was
supervising the renovation of
these old pagodas and the
construction uncovered many old
relics such as Dolomite stele
images, figures of kings,
queens, monks, .and various
donators, wood carvings, bells,
ancient jars, and stone tablets
etc. and are kept in a guarded
place.
The site has great possibilities
for further excavations and this
old capital should give up many
secrets of the country's rich
past. D
