| Abstract: |
This article will present a group of baked clay artefacts which are today scattered across various locations in Thailand, and which can be argued as all originating from the archaeological site at Tap Chumphon in Nakhon Sawan Province. Of the sixteen artefacts identified, eight bear similar, bilingual inscriptions written in Pali and Old Mon. These inscriptions are written in the commonly labelled Post-Pallava script, and based on palaeographic evidence have been dated roughly to the 8th-9th centuries CE. The Pali portion is the Ye Dhammā verse, which is often inscribed on artefacts in Southeast Asia. The Mon portion states that merit was accrued by a donor for the supposed construction of a temple building, probably a pavilion or resthouse. This article will provide readings and translations for these inscriptions and will discuss the implications of this find, which show Tap Chumphon to be a unique settlement and indicate for contact with other communities in northeastern Thailand and with the Khmer culture.
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