Sri Ksetra

   (Thayekkhittaya)

   Capital of the Pyus from the fifth to the ninth centuries CE, located at Hmawza near Prome (Pyay) in what is now Pegu (Bago) Division. Chinese chroniclers described it as a large city with a circular wall (8.5 miles in circumference), 12 gates, and more than a hundred monasteries, where gold and silver currency was used (coins were not minted by the Burmese until the mid-19th century). It was a major seaport, being located at that time near the sea. The Archeological Survey of India began excavations on the site in 1907. Today, the most prominent features of the Sri Ksetra ruins are remains of the wall and several pagodas, including the cylindrical-shaped Bawbawgyi and the conical Payagyi and Payama, which have a design distinct from later pagodas, being strongly influenced by India. G. E. Harvey describes Sri Ksetra as "the most extensive site in Burma, larger than any city the Burmese ever built, possibly because the whole population dwelt inside the wall" (History of Burma, 1967, 12).