Bagan Conservation Project

Situated on a bend of the Ayeyarwady River in the dry central plain of Myanmar, Bagan is a vast cultural landscape encompassing an extraordinary ensemble of Buddhist art and architecture. Begun as an ancient Pyu Kingdom settlement, Bagan flourished as the royal capital of the Bagan Civilization between 1044 and 1287 CE, until its collapse following the Mongol invasion.

The over 3,500 temples, stupas, monasteries, and archaeological remains, which house an astonishing collection of wall painting, sculpture, stucco, glazed decoration, votive tablets and inscriptions, are the surviving vestiges of this powerful empire and the practice of merit-making. The site is a testament to the consolidation of social, political, and economic power and the rise of Theravada Buddhism during the Bagan Period that enabled its extensive construction.

These monuments are an integral part of a continuous living tradition of religious activity. The intangible values of religious use are inseparable from the physical structures. In 2019 the site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Today, the archaeological site of Bagan covers fifty square kilometers and continues to be an important place of pilgrimage and worship as well as traditional cultural and agrarian practices. However, Bagan is subject to natural and human-made risks which threaten its long-term survival. Located in a seismic zone and subject to occasional flooding, Bagan’s monuments have been affected for centuries by these natural hazards, which are now compounded by climate change and shifts in foresting practice that can negatively impact the site.

In 2016 the Chauk earthquake damaged over 400 structures. This event focused renewed international attention on the site and assisted in directing conservation efforts. There remains, however, significant strategic and detailed work to be done in assisting the Department of Archaeology and National Museum to meet their obligations to sustain and conserve the site over the long term now that emergency assistance has dissipated.

The Conservation Institute advises and assists the Department of Archaeology and National Museum in the prioritization of and strategic planning in areas related to the overall management of the site. Bagan’s World Heritage listing is expected to increase tourism and impact individual monuments as well as the site’s setting. The World Heritage Committee has asked the Department of Archaeology and National Museum to address these concerns through sustainable tourism strategy, an archaeological risk plan, agricultural sector strategy, and heritage impact assessments for development projects within the protection zone.

This area of project work is focused on identifying a repair methodology, including seismic mitigation measures, and techniques appropriate to the range of monument types across the site. Doing this involves:

• classifying monuments into different building typologies based on their seismic structural behavior characteristics
• advanced research modeling and testing on a representative building for each typology to understand the monument's behavior; develop appropriate and minimal intervention repair and retrofit approaches; trial and test the approaches; and develop strategies and guidelines for repair
• working with Department of Archaeology and National Museum staff to build their capacity to design and develop appropriate repair projects

This component of work aims to improve the conservation of decorated elements at the site by building a core team of Department of Archaeology and National Museum conservators and assisting them by:

• promoting a deeper understanding of decorated elements and the role (historically and currently) they play at Bagan (i.e., merit-making, donor attribution), as well as their link to national identity, their contribution to the values of the overall site, and their architectural significances
• improving conservation prioritization to allow for better management and care for the multitude of decorated elements across the site
• developing conservation policies for decorated elements at Bagan to improve standards and practice of work

Conservation training is part of a long-term strategy of enhancing skills and capacity across the conservation disciplines needed at the site. This strategy includes working to elevate the status of the conservation profession in Myanmar and the role it plays in helping to preserve the heritage of Bagan, along with a series of courses targeting Department of Archaeology and National Museum staff that augments the experiential training undertaken as part of the other project components. Initial activities involve training in conservation theory, principles, and methodologies.

The project works with personnel from the Department of Archaeology and National Museum to enhance their recording, documentation, and information management procedures and capabilities in the areas of:

• information management, security, and access
• inventory and mapping
• assessment and recording protocols
• training and equipment

The aim is to improve standards of documentation, consistency of data collection, and access to and archiving of information at Bagan.

In partnership with the Department of Archaeology and National Museum, a model field project at Myin-Pya-Gu, a temple that has been closed to the public for several years due to conservation concerns, is being developed and implemented. The model field project will embed conservation methodologies, approaches, and best practices in the work of the Department of Archaeology and National Museum that can be applied to other monuments at Bagan. Myin-Pya-Gu will also serve as one of the typologies for the Repair and Retrofitting of Monuments component, while acting as a case study for work on decorated elements and as a site for training activities.

Former team member: Lori Wong