1. CONFERENCE ON GLAZED CERAMICS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA (THEIR HISTORY, TECHNOLOGY AND TRADITIONS).
20-22 September 1999. By John Miksic, Dept. of History, National University of Singapore.

The conference was organized by the Khattiya Institute of Technical Services, the Universities Historical Research Centre, the Department of Archaeology, and the Myat-Mikhin Foundation. The conference proper was preceded by a visit to the kiln sites of Twante, south of Yangon. The group left Yangon before dawn, crossed the river to Dala by ferry boat, and spent the day in an unseasonably wet condition riding on trailers pulled by farm tractors, and later on bullock carts, occasionally slogging barefoot through streams. Numerous recently-discovered kiln mounds were observed, some marked by dense scatters of wasters and kiln supports similar to those used in Thailand. The wares were mainly celadon green stonewares. Two in-ground kilns have been recently excavated. Although no absolute dates are available, it seems likely that the sites date to the 15th and 16th centuries.

The conference took place in Bagan, in the new museum recently built there. After an opening ceremony addressed by H.E. U Win Sein, the Minister of Culture; U Nyunt Han, director-general of archaeology; U Thaw Kaung, member of the Universities Historical Research Centre, and Dr. Myo Thant Tyn, chairman of the Myat Mikhin Foundation and Khattiya Institute of Technical Services, the sessions began. Attention centered on recent work in Burma. Dr. Myo Thant Tyn presented a detailed paper on "The Ancient Glaze Kiln Sites in Myanmar" which contained a wealth of information about recent research on this topic.

It seems likely that the region of Burma between the Irrawaddy River mouth and Bago (Pegu) will soon be recognized as having been an important producer of glazed stoneware at approximately the same time as Si Satchannalai in Thailand. There is also evidence that production of such wares continued at various sites until the present, and that some of the wares were exported both to various parts of Southeast Asia and perhaps also westward. The interest and involvement of young Burmese scholars in the conference suggests that archaeology in Burma may be in the early stages of new growth.