Wieng Kum Kam - Atlantis of Lan Na (Signed 1st Edn)

Book title : Wieng Kum Kam - Atlantis of Lan Na
Published : 2002
Language : English
Author : Garry Harbottle-Johnson
Edition : First Edition
Format : Softback 96pp
Type : Non-fiction, Thailand, History
ISBN : 9748543986
ISBN-13 : 9789748543987

Illustrated with over 50 Colour and Black & White photographs, and over a dozen Colour and Black & White maps and line drawings.

Condition : New and unread, as supplied from printers

The ONLY English Language guide book for the northernmost Thai Archaeological Park

A new rival for Angkor, Ayutthaya, & Sukhothai?

Over 700 years ago, a new capital city was built for the fledgling Empire of Lan Na, in modern northern Thailand....

.... 250 years later, it was buried by a catastrophic flood.

Discover the most relaxing location in Northern Thailand - Wat Kan Thom - the history of this tranquil temple, a mix of medieval ruins and modern in-use religious buildings, is fully narrated in this book.

Now Wieng Kum Kam continues being uncovered by archaeologists, and turned into one of the world's newest archaeological parks, joining Ayutthaya, Sukhothai, Angkor Wat, Machu Pichu, and the many others around the globe.

This First Edition, history and guide to the civilisation that created the city, details the history of it's rulers, armies, religions and peoples. Origin legends relating to the populating of the middle Mekhong region are narrated, and compared.

Warfare within Lan Na and against surrounding nations (including the Mongol Chinese) is described, as are the pre-medieval peoples of the area. Learn about medieval espionage, city defences, and open warfare between city-states and empire-nations. How did the ruler of a small village rise to rule an international empire that kept the all-conquering Mongols at bay? What military and political methods did he use, who were his allies and enemies, enforcers and traitors?

Each of the excavated temples, and other buildings, within the recently excavated city, have their own descriptive sections with photographs or plan drawings. Several maps of the extent of the site, and detailed sections of it, are presented, including a map for tourists wishing to explore this "lost city".

"A very useful book about a much overlooked topic".
John Shaw, MBE - former British Consul to Chiang Mai

"If you're interested in Asian history, or thinking of taking a holiday in Northern Thailand - you'll want this book."
Good Morning Chiangmai News Magazine

Written by British expatriate historian G D Harbottle-Johnson, a former lecturer at Chiang Mai University, "Wieng Kum Kam - Atlantis of Lan Na" has received much praise in Thailand's press and has become compulsory reading for the region's official tour guide industry.

Since its publishing, several government departments have rewritten the "official" history they publish about some aspects of the early Northern Thai kingdoms, and their earlier conclusions about the site and some of its structures have been re-examined. Even foreign publications (such as Lonely Planet and Rough Guide) have revised their content due to the findings printed in this book. The methodology of teaching what was formerly "set in stone" history, has been revised at several of Thailand's universities, and there are now calls for the site to be made into a World Heritage Site.


The Pyramidical Stupa of Wat Chedi Liam, over 700 years old and now also the subject of heated debate concerning why it was built, due once again to this unique book and the insightful author.

Update Spring 2007 - after almost 5 years of heated debate and controversy, the Thai Fine Arts Department (responsible for the deptartments of Antiquities and Archaeology) have accepted and adopted the date theory put forward in this book for the flooding and destruction of this medieval city. They have begun erecting tourist information boards, around the city-site, which describes the flood using almost word-for-word copy of the text in this book.  Who says plagiarism is dead?

This is an incredible vindication for the author, who was the first to propose a date based on field and archival archaeology, after having been pilloried for years due to his hypothesis.  It is also an amazing cultural victory in a nation renowned for refusing foreign advice and guidance.

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