UNESCO declaration on Phu Phra Bat Historical Park to come this week

She expects the historical park to be picked for consideration during the 46th World Heritage Committee session in New Delhi, India, either on Friday or Saturday,

The ministry has appointed the Fine Arts Department’s representative to attend the session, which runs until July 31, she added.

“If Phu Phra Bat Historical Park is listed as a world heritage site, it will be Thailand’s fifth cultural heritage and Udon Thani’s second site following Ban Chiang Archaeological Site,” she said.

Sudawan said she is confident that the historical park will be named as a new world heritage site, thanks to the working team’s data preparation and presentation.

She added that the Fine Arts Department will live broadcast the result announcement on its Facebook page.

“The Culture Ministry would like to ask Thai people to cheer Phu Phra Bat Historical Park to be approved as a world heritage site, which will boost Thailand’s reputation and pride on the global stage,” she added.

According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Phu Phra Bat Historical Park features a large number of ancient ruins and objects dating from prehistory, mostly from the Dvaravati, Lopburi and Lan Xang periods.

Within a lush forest called Pa Khua Nam are many rocks of peculiar shapes, which are the result of a slow-moving glacier millions of years ago, the authority explained.

Many of the ruins and objects found in the area were made from the materials found locally though not built entirely by hand. They include a rock decorated as a stupa, another chiselled into the shape of a foot as well as prehistoric cave paintings, sandstone images and idols.

The site was declared a historical park by the Fine Arts Department in 1991, TAT added.