Category:Saraburi Province

Map Keys
	Large Prasats		Arogyasalas
	Large Ruins		Dharmasalas
	Medium Prasats		Ancient Bridges
	Medium Ruins		Ancient Cities
	Medium Tuols		Ancient Kilns
	Small Prasats		Ancient Quarries
	Small Ruins		Ancient Reservoirs
	Small Tuols		Ancient Villages
	Museums		Carvings
	Depositories		Other Structures
	Wats		Prehistoric Sites
	Neak Ta's		Unknown Sites
	Unconfirmed Sites

What is today the relatively small, Central Plains, province of Saraburi clearly held a key strategic position in earlier times - both geographically and in terms of transport and communications. The Pasak River passes through the province, connecting Lopburi and Muang Boran Si Thep to the north with Ayodhya to the south while Prachinburi and Nakhon Ratchasima lie short distances to the southeast and northeast respectively.

Furthermore, subsequent centuries of infill by sedimentation from the Chao Phraya and associated rivers means that in earlier times Saraburi would have been a coastal province looking onto the upper Gulf. (The precise historic rate of infill in this region is hard to determine with precision.)

Early Dvaravati settlements such as Muang Boran Khet Khin, Phai Lom and Dong Muang (Muang Wan) show evidence of occupation into the Khmer period while there are some, (as yet unconfirmed), indications of the presence of a possible, late 12th-century, settlement in the vicinity of what is today Sao Hai District.

Nonetheless, the province today features no standing structures or vestiges that can confidently be dated to the Khmer period and listings, apart from the above-mentioned settlement sites, consist principally of artefacts housed in modern wats. Notably, the majority of which date to the Bayon period.

We'd suggest that in the early period of the Khmer presence in the region, they were content to use existing Dvaravati facilities and settlements, with possibly 'purpose-built' sites not appearing until extended control was exerted during the reign of Jayavarman VII.