Page 325 - Thai Heritage from Space_ebook

11 ํ 35’ N
102 ํ 16’ E

ชุมพร
แม่นํ้า กระบุรี

ระนอง แม่นํ้า
หลังสวน อ่าวไทย

คลอง สุราษฎร์ธานี Trang, Songkhla and Satun provinces. This passage was of two types:
พุมดวง a middle bed and ‘boundary’ of Thailand and Malaysia.
As for the Andaman coast, there is a river called ‘Kra’. It acted
แม่นํ้า
as a boundary between Thailand and Myanmar after the Tanaosri
ตาปี
พังงา นครศรีธรรมราช Ridgeline. The Town of Ranong lies on the east coast of the river mouth
and Ko Song in Myanmar, which is also called “Victoria Point”. It is
situated on the west coast, which is very curvy and with clusters of
กระบี่ แม่นํ้า
ภูเก็ต แม่นํ้า ตรัง ปากพนัง islands. This natural geographical area indicated that it was the result
of the sinking of land near the sea in the past. Along this area, there
were narrow plains and beaches at some points toward Phuket Island.
ตรัง พัทลุง After that, the coast bent and formed some small lagoons along its
curves and the old estuaries. At various points, layers of sediment
became thick mangrove forests while at others, beaches were developed.
สงขลา
These natural sights could be observed along the widening coast toward
ปัตตานี the boundary of Malaysia.
คลอง อู่ตะเภา The seashore on the east part of the peninsula toward the
สตูล
ยะลา seaboard of the Gulf of Thailand came into being because of the daily
washing-in of high tides. The long coast is smooth with some sand
นราธิวาส
อันดามัน แม่นํ้า ปัตตานี dunes lying one after the other occupying a huge area of shore. At
certain places, the beach enclosed the sea creating a small inland lake.
แม่นํ้า โก-ลก At some points; however, layers of sediments made several fertile
แม่นํ้า
สายบุรี
N mangrove forests suitable for settling, for instance, at Ao Ban Don,
Songkhla Lake as well as the Pattani alluvia.
Traces of settlements in the South of Thailand indicated that in
มาเลเซีย
T settlements of big communities along the coastal plain of the Gulf of
5 ํ 13’ N the past, there were settlers in many years. Images from the satellite
97 ํ 36’ E 40 km. showed signs of city walls and moats, ponds and barays indicating

Thailand. Nonetheless, those plains on the Andaman beaches exhibited
some archaeology sites where old artifacts similar to those found in
the old towns on the Gulf of Thailand coast were spotted. In every
he South of Thailand...
place, there were routes connecting to one another. It is likely that the
Land between the two Oceans
archaeological findings on both sides of the coast were connected and
made it possible for archaeology hubs to exist. Likewise, it was believed
South of Thailand that the archaeological sites extended on both sides and were presumably
The area of land called “peninsula” stretched down to the south. designed as piers when trading was all the rage. These passages
It started from Ranong - Chumphon going south to the boundary between Thailand connected traders and travelers on the western part of the Indian Ocean
and Malaysia, which was at the end of this peninsula called the Strait of such as India, Sri Lanka and Persia whereas there were the other
Malaya. Singapore is situated on this strait close to the Strait of Malacca. This groups of traders and travelers on the Pacific Coast namely China,
strait is a short-cut from the Andaman Sea to the Gulf of Thailand. In this Vietnam and Japan. During the 7 - 9 centuries CE., in particular, the
th
th
area, there are mountain ranges and plains lying one after another from north Kingdom of Srivijaya was mentioned in the inscription of Palembang,
to south beginning with the Tanaosri and Phuket mountain ranges along the Sumatra Island and the inscriptions of the Sema Muang temple in
Andaman coast. Also, there is Khao Luang Range, which begins at Ao Ban the old town at Wiang Sa of Surat Thani Province (some Documents
Don, Surat Thani province widening through Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, indicate that it was found in Nakhon Si Thammarat).

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