Workers installing a drainage system beneath Wat Dhammachak Semaram, a Buddhist temple in northeastern Thailand, discovered a cache of ancient relics buried just over a meter deep. The find includes 33 bronze, silver, and gold items such as rings, earrings, and two repoussé plaques—one gold depicting a seated Buddha in the teaching gesture, and one tin showing a standing Buddha with attendants. Archaeologists from Thailand’s fine arts department conducted a second phase of excavation, uncovering the plaques and a soil deposit embedded with metal sheets behind the temple’s famous 40-foot reclining Buddha.
The artifacts date to the Dvaravati period (6th–11th centuries) and suggest that the temple site in Nakhon Ratchasima province was a more significant religious center during that era than previously understood. The discovery expands knowledge of early Buddhist craftsmanship and ritual practices in the region, and the items are now being studied and preserved at the Phimai National Museum. This find underscores the ongoing archaeological importance of Thailand’s temple sites and their potential to reshape historical narratives.