INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: India has actually chosen Charaideos royal burial mounds or tumulus called moidam of the Ahom dynasty that ruled Assam for six
centuries from 1228 to 1826 for consideration as a Unesco World Heritage Site
Likewise called the Pyramids of Assam, the moidams in Charaideo have actually been likened to the royal tombs of ancient China and the
Egyptian pyramids.Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma stated on Saturday that the file on the Charaideo moidams has actually been picked by PM
Narendra Modi as the countrys election for the Unesco tag for 2023-2024 from a list of 52 websites proposed by other states
The PMO and Union ministry of cultural affairs have actually informed me of this special news and the nomination will be sent to the Unesco
office in Paris tonight, he said
A Unesco team will do a site assessment in September, he said.Charaideo was the first capital established by king Sukapha-- the kingdoms
creator and also offered Asom or Assam its current name
The Ahom changed their capital numerous times, Charaideo (che=city, rai=prominent, doi=hill) stayed a revered place because of the 42
mausoleums of kings and queens spread over a number of acres at the foot of Patkai hills.The Tai-Ahoms believed that their kings were gods
(swargadeo) on earth and so picked to bury the departed royals in Charaideo, the spiritual core of their kingdom
Like royal burial places across the world, the moidams were filled with individual artefacts, gems and even servants for use in the
afterlife.The dossier states that moidams have actually been seen in different parts of northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Northern Burma,
Southern China and Northeast India however the cluster of moidams in Charaideo distinguishes itself in scale, concentration and being
found in the most spiritual land of the Tai-Ahoms
The moidams were first noted in the tentative list (inventory of properties suitable for engraving on the world heritage list) in 2014,
however did not make the cut up until Friday.The file states that Moidams are risen chambers (chow-chali), typically double storied, gone
into through an arched passage
Atop the hemispherical mud-mound, layers of bricks and earth are laid, where the base of the mound is reinforced by a polygonal toe-wall and
an arched gateway on the west
Eventually, the mound would be covered by a layer of plants, similar to a group of hillocks, transforming the area into an undulating
