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Buried Civilization, the Ban Chang Archaeological Site.

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In 1966, a student found shards of pottery protruding from the ground quite by accident.

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Ban Chang in northeast Thailand suddenly began to get worldwide attention.

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Major excavations were conducted in the 1970s,

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and after several examinations it was believed that the remains of this settlement

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could date back to 3,500 years BC.

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Some ceramics were decorated with the images of plants and animals.

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The patterns show that people of that time already farmed rice and had domesticated animals.

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The pottery was printed with rope patterns.

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No influences from China or India are seen in Ban Chang earthenware.

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The white crystals on the ground are salt released from the soil during the dry season.

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The region has mainly red laterite soil, high in salt content.

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It is generally believed that the prosperity of the civilization in this region owes much to its salt production.

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Scraped crystals are mixed with water and left to settle for half a day.

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Then a small hole is made in the bottom to extract salt water.

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The water drains through a tiny hole. The process takes about three hours.

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The water is then boiled down for four hours.

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It is a slow process which has not changed since ancient times.

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Finally the salt is extracted. A half metal drum produces around five kilograms of salt.

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Salt was more precious than rice in ancient times.

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People exchanged salt for many other items which brought prosperity to the local people.

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Ban Chang villagers still use the old method of making clay pots.

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They walk around the pot to shape it instead of using a pottery wheel.

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The pots are fired unglazed.

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Moistened straw is placed on top to lower the temperature while stirring.

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Moistened straw is placed on top to lower the temperature while firing.

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These pots have been made just as they were thousands of years ago.

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The mysterious Ban Chang civilization was discovered by chance.

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However the whole picture is not yet completely known.

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More history is still lying deep underground waiting to be revealed.