Archaeologists in Thailand have discovered two gold rings estimated to be around 2,000 years old, providing new evidence of ancient trade and cultural connections between India and Southeast Asia.
The rings were unearthed during excavations at the Don Yai Thong archaeological site in western Thailand. One ring carries an inscription believed to be in the ancient Brahmi script, one of the earliest writing systems of the Indian subcontinent. Experts believe the inscription reads “pusarakhitasa,” meaning “the one protected by Pushya.”
Based on the inscription and the ring’s design, archaeologists believe it may have belonged to an Indian merchant from the Vaishya trading community, highlighting early maritime trade links between India and Southeast Asia.
The second ring, found with the same skeleton, is a plain gold band without any inscription.
The Don Yai Thong site, located about 130 kilometres southwest of Bangkok, was identified earlier this year after local residents found fragments of ancient bronze drums in a rice field. Archaeologists have dated the site to Thailand’s late prehistoric Iron Age, around 1,500 to 2,500 years ago.
