Dong Mueang Aem
ดงเมืองแอม | |
Interactive map of Dong Mueang Aem | |
| Location | Khao Suan Kwang, Khon Kaen, Thailand |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 16°49′31.0″N 102°48′34″E / 16.825278°N 102.80944°E |
| Type | Human settlement |
| Area |
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| History | |
| Founded | c. 6th century |
| Abandoned | c. 18th century |
| Periods | Ancient history |
| Cultures | |
| Associated with | Mon people |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1982 |
| Archaeologists | Fine Arts Department |
| Condition | Mostly destroyed |
| Ownership | Private |
| Management | Dong Mueang Aem Subdistrict Administrative Organization, no entry fee |
| Public access | Yes |
Dong Mueang Aem (Thai: ดงเมืองแอม) was a group of ancient settlements located in Dong Mueang Aem subdistrict, Khao Suan Kwang, Khon Kaen, northeastern Thailand, controlling trade route between the Songkhram River basin to the north and the Chi–Mun basins to the south. It was inhabited from the 6th – 18th centuries from the Dvaravati to the late Ayutthaya periods, and was once being sacked by Mahendravarman of Chenla during his expansion campaign to the Chi-Mun Valley. After being abandoned for a century, it was repopulated by Lao people in 1859.
Dong Mueang Aem was a supra-regional center of the Dvaravati civilization, together with Si Thep, Mueang Fa Daet Song Yang, and others, but little known about its political structure. It could have previously been the center of an ancient kingdom. According to the Wat Sri Mueang Aem Inscription (K. 1120) discovered in the inner city, Dong Mueang Aem potentially could be linked to the formation of Chenla.