The excavation of iron age working floors and small-scale industry at Ban Non Wat, Thailand

Abstract

[Extract] The prehistoric moat-mound site of Ban Non Wat (BNW) is located on the Khorat Plateau in Northeast Thailand (figure 1). Initially identified due to its Iron Age moats, BNW has provided a wealth of information about changing social complexity, based largely on the extensive number of graves recovered over the first seven seasons of excavation (Higham 2009). Occupation layers dating from the Neolithic (c. 1750 BC) through to the Iron Age (AD 500) allow for a deep view into the prehistory of Northeast Thailand (Higham and Higham 2009). This report details the discovery of Iron Age clay-lined working floors found in excavation squares V200 and W200 during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 field seasons, as part of the new and ongoing project at the site co-directed by Drs. Nigel Chang, Kate Domett, Amphan Kijngam, Warrachai Wiriyaromp and Prof. Bill Boyd. In this report we examine one hypothesis that argues these floors may be associated with small-scale metal and salt production at the site. This is an ongoing project and more evidence will be gathered during future fieldwork to further test this hypothesis.