ARCHITECTURAL STYLES Though there are a number of distinct architectural styles at Bagan, it is easy even for amateurs to trace the developments of temple design over the 240 years of construction. Buildings are primarily either solid zedis (stupas) or hollow pathos. The latter- large, square building containing arched passageways- are sometimes referred to as 'temples' in their English names. A zedi customarily houses some relics from the Buddha- hair, tooth or bone- while the focal point of a patho will be a number of Buddha images. The zedis can be seen in an earlier, more bulbous style and in a clearly Sinhalese design before they evolved into the more distinctively Burmese pattern.

Early Pathos were heavily influenced by late Pyu architecture. These early square temple are characterised by their perforated windows and dimly lit interiors. The common Burmese view holds that these early Bagan styles are 'Mon-style' buildings created by Mon architects imported from Thaton after its conquest, although no such architecture exists in the Mon lowlands. The latest theories suggest the Mon influence at Bagan was primarily confined to the religious and literary spheres rather than the artistic or architectural. Bagan's kings looked instead to the Pyu kingdoms and to India for architectural inspiration.

The pathos can be primarily divided into two types: those having one entrance to a vaulted inner area and few windows and those having four entrances with images around a central cube. The smaller patho characteristic of early Bagan is often called gu or ku, a Pali-Burmese word for 'cave-temple'; these monuments are particularly common around the town of Nyaung U. Seventeen pentagonal monuments- considered the earliest known five-sided buildings in the world- have also been found at Bagan.

Later pathos added Indian design elements to the mix to produce a truly Burmese design in bright and well-lit pathos. Other unique structures include the pitaka taik (Buddhist scripture library), thein (ordination hall), kyaung (monastery). These are buildings that would normally have been constructed of wood and therefore would have disappeared; fortunately a few were constructed of brick and stone. Monastery buildings served as living quarters and meditation cells for resident monks. At one time much of the ground space between all the monuments visible today were filled with wooden monastery buildings, said to rival or even exceed the royal palace in design.