Inside the Forbidden Temples of Bagan: Newly Discovered 11Th Century Ruins

Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse places on the planet. With so many different cultures and religions, all living side by side. And I'm an example of just that. My name is Peter Lee. I'm a Singaporean scholar of Peranakan descent, Chinese with a dash of Malay blood. I celebrate being mixed up. It's right in my DNA. My passion is collecting artefacts that offer a fresh narrative. It's a European fairy tale, but it's depicted on a batik from Indonesia. How wonderful is that? I'm setting off on a new journey, travelling further back in time. Oh my god, we see this everywhere in Southeast Asia. To explore how the region's mighty empires have shaped our collective identity. This is a goldmine. No culture exists in isolation. In this episode, I'm travelling to Myanmar. A thousand years ago, this nation was first unified by a great empire that sprouted from its arid heartlands. It's majestic. It's an ancient infinity pool. They embraced a new faith and built a sacred city in its honour. The light passing onto the building, it's just incredible. I'm exploring how the Pagan Empire dominated for over two centuries, establishing a culture and identity that defines the nation to this day. I'm in Pagan, central Myanmar, and there's really only one way to see this place. It's 6am and I'm just about to get out of this hot air balloon. The air is really still, which is just perfect. It's my first time in a hot air balloon, and it's so peaceful. Floating in the sky, we can see the lovely terrain here with the farms separated by borders of beautiful palms. And it's so calm and peaceful up here. Largely untouched by the modern world, the landscape looks very much the same as it would have centuries ago. Rising amid this rustic scene are the beautiful spires of Pagan. Ancient Pagan was dubbed the City of a Thousand Temples, the capital of a mighty empire that ruled for over four centuries. Pagan was first established around the year 850, and it remained a small principality for 200 years. But that all changed with the birth of a legendary king. In 1014, a boy called Min Soh was born to Pagan's ruler and one of his wives. It was a great blessing because he only had two step-sons, offspring of the former king he had overthrown. When the brothers grew into men, they overthrew the king and banished him to live out his days as a monk. But they saw Min Soh as a brother, until one day, one of the brothers took Min Soh's mother as queen. Min Soh was so enraged that he gathered an army in rebellion. In single combat, he defeated his step-brother, who drowned in the river. And so, Min Soh was crowned King Anuradha. It was the beginning of a mighty reign that would expand Pagan's territory over most of modern Myanmar, to lay the foundations for the nation today. While Myanmar's urban centres have begun to modernise, time in Pagan has stood pretty still. Traditional pots have been in everyday use for centuries. These are so beautiful. They have such simple and elegant shapes. The pots made here are famous for keeping drinking water cool. When it's baked, the clay will become porous, which lowers the temperature of the water inside. Tin Tin Tet has been helping her family business since the age of 15. And you have to have real control on your fingertips to keep the shape very even, which I obviously don't have. I'm making a mess of this. I'm making it wider. I'm supposed to make a water pot, but I think I'm making a wobbly flower pot. Disaster. The pots are decorated and fired in a mound of straw and ash for five days. It's amazing to think that water pots are still in huge demand here. But this is why. Covering over 54,000 square kilometres, Myanmar's heartland sees less than 80 centimetres of rainfall a year. It's a third of Singapore, and less than some of Africa's savannahs. I'm in Tuyen Tetso, a mountain about half an hour just outside Pagan. This area is so dry that it was once called the parched land. And managing water was crucial for the growth of the Pagan Empire. Archaeologist Scott McRae is taking me to a site only discovered in 2013. Oh my god. It's so huge and deep. Half out of the sandstone stands an 11th-century reservoir, part of a network of eight tanks and two canals that carried water to the city of Pagan. Its walls hold clues about the value of what was stored in here. I know this pattern so well, but I never imagined I would see it carved on the side of a water tank. I've seen it on temple carvings, I've seen it on batik, elaborate labyrinth patterns set with swastikas. Some people think you follow it towards enlightenment. And what about the hole in the middle? They'll put a pole in it to measure water heights at different times of the year. The tank can hold as much water as an Olympic pool, and at the end, is a symbolic tribute. It depicts Buddha sitting on a throne made of a snake. So, where all the water that would overflow out of the tank would pass, beyond to Pagan. Spiritually purifying water shows just how precious this resource was. To think how people thought of drinking water and religion altogether is something very moving and very relevant even today. I'm travelling 100 kilometres northeast to Tiaw Se, where great rivers meet. And it's this source of water that held the key to how the Pagan Empire grew. King Anaratta couldn't sleep after killing his stepbrother to take the Pagan throne. But the Lord of Spirits appeared in a dream and told him, to do good for your people and share the merit with your brother. Then he saw three snakes standing for the three rivers of the area. The first, he cut into four pieces, reflecting how those rivers were dammed. But the last snake gets away, representing a river that was never tamed. It was thanks to this dream, the legend goes, that the Pagan king built weirs and canals to divert the rivers and irrigate this land. He populated the area with villages, and their descendants still use the infrastructure to this day. I'm getting a chance to use a more modern sluice gate with farmer Tin Ong. This way? This way. This is the crucial lifeblood for over 10 farms. Look at all this water gushing forth. With abundant water and fertile soil, the result was bountiful crops. As rice harvests grew, so did the ancient kingdom's population. Excess food strengthened Pagan, and helped it create a new society that would come to rule over the whole nation. A thousand years ago, Pagan was just a small principality in central Myanmar. I'm with archaeologist Giles Yanone examining remains from the early Pagan era. They are searching for a new understanding of the origins of the civilisation that grew into modern Myanmar. These are remnants of the floor surface, what we call on-floor materials. And then we collect materials from inside the floor itself, which tells us about the timing of the construction of the floor. These floors are quite hard. They brought in clay. They were very durable and long-lasting. We're digging through the floor of a house and trying to find the next level down. And I'm waiting for the roots to just sort of level off, which would indicate the next floor level. It seems to be... Yes, I think you found it. From top to bottom here, we might be looking at maybe even 800 years or more of occupation. We'll see. From just a couple of pits, the team have excavated hundreds of shards, leading them to believe a community of potters lived here. A young Burmese researcher rediscovering his country's heritage is Soh Toon Lim. There are no previous studies on the Myanmar ceramics. So far, we've created 36 different types and subtypes. This is really groundbreaking. It's new research. Yes, we're trying to establish the chronology. Bagan was the first Burmese dynasty. And also, the art and architecture was very unique. And it was the peak time of the Burmese people. So, it is very important for us. We need to have a very good eye. Most of the young people, they think we are crazy. Yes. The team is creating the first catalogue of Bagan pottery to help understand how cultural identity evolved here. The pot specimens were so interesting because it's a completely different kind of history about simple pots that are used for cooking, for water, by peoples whose histories and narratives have been forgotten. Bagan, a thousand years ago, was populated by distinct communities, each of a similar ethnicity and profession, who came together to create a unique civilisation. But for it to spread beyond its borders took divine inspiration. Legend goes that a travelling monk called Shin Arahan visited Bagan in 1056. He taught the Buddhist principle of mindfulness. And King Anaratta was so impressed, he decided to make Bagan a Buddhist kingdom. But the monk shook his head. Because for Buddhism to hold true, Bagan needed holy scriptures. And the only ones nearby were at Thaton, the capital of the Mon kingdom. But its ruler, King Manuha, refused to give them up. So, Anaratta sent his army to take the city. After a three-month siege, the Mon surrendered, and 30,000 captives were led away. So, in 1057, the first Buddhist scriptures arrived in Bagan, and the faith was installed in the nation. I'm in the town of Tiaw Se to see a tradition that sprang from King Anaratta's expedition in search of Buddhist relics. The legend goes that they were carried back on a royal elephant, which knelt at a nearby hill where a great temple was founded. This history is remembered by a unique tradition. This dance tells of the battle of will between a wild elephant and Mahout. The elephant is unruly at first, but gradually, trust is kindled. In the end, they dance in unison. It actually reminds me of the lion dances back home. That was so wonderful. Thank you so much. I really loved it. Can you show me the differences between the happy movement and the grand movement? What about the happy movement? I'm very happy. I want to be a disco-dancing elephant. How many seconds do we hold this? Thank you. With that, I'm ready for the real experience. I can't see. Oh my god, it's really hard to get into. You need to be a contortionist. The frame weighs over 150 kilograms. It's so heavy. There's a bar on my shoulder. This is a torture chamber. I'm finally in, and ready for my performance. Okay. Carry this whole weight, and lift up your legs as well. It's very exhilarating, actually. It was a real privilege to see this most unusual dance. It imitated the natural movements of the elephant. It made me feel connected to a very long history. There's no real way to transmit pure emotion across the ages, but I'd say dance comes pretty close. In the late 11th century, King Anaratta was dedicated to installing Buddhism as Bagan's state religion. But he was met with a backlash from the worshippers of the local animist gods called Nats. Their centre of worship is Mount Popa. I'm making the ascent to see how this faith survives. This section of the steps is all caged in like this to keep all the monkeys out. But the infamous primates are too cunning by far. The steps are getting steeper. But with all these spiritual places, it's always a struggle, and it's an important part of this whole process. After 777 steps, I finally made it to the realm of the gods. It's so serene and calm here. It's interesting how pilgrims just go around each image, Buddhist or Nats. I'm making an offering to the Lady of Popa, Mae Wuna, with caretaker, Tuan Tan. So, first... I don't want to go into detail. What sort of people come here to make such offerings? Tuan Tan tells me that Mae Wuna was once a human who died of heartbreak when her lover and two sons were executed. Many of the other Nats were also once people who met with tragic deaths. To make Bagan a Buddhist empire, King Anuradha recognised 37 Nats as spirits serving under the Buddha. Nats act as intermediaries, almost like Catholic saints. It's a very neat integration into Buddhist theology. This union of faiths has been going strong for close to 1,000 years. And the same idea of assimilation also helped expand Bagan's rule over nearby territories and peoples. King Anuradha linked his kingdom to the Pew people, which helped unify the Central Plains. He became a patron to Mon artisans and scholars of the South, and also used diplomacy to win over the Shan and Rakhine peoples. By the end of his 33-year reign in 1077, the Bagan Empire had established a territory similar to modern-day Myanmar. But the bigger task remained of unifying his new people under one culture. Buddhism helped to shape the Bagan Empire. But what does it mean for modern Myanmar? To understand the role of Buddhist institutions, I'm at a monastery to join in a sacred rite. This practice of alms goes back to the birth of Buddhism. It's one of the earliest aspects of monastic practice. Alms bowls have a symbolic importance because they are one of a monk's few personal possessions. They're strictly reserved for priests and novices, so I'm using a tiffin carrier instead. The march moves at a quick pace. I didn't think I was going to go for a morning jog. It's a tough time catching up with them. I've got so much here. It's just groaning with rice and food. After an hour, we're back at the temple. It's time for morning chores for the 100 novices here. While they keep busy, I'm talking to head monk, Shin Kei Minda. At my temple, I'm the one who's in charge of all the rituals. I am the one who has to do all the work for the monks. I'm the one who is responsible for their daily activities. As a monk, I'm responsible for their daily activities. I'm in charge of the members' daily activities. So the temples have always been the centre for academia and knowledge. In that way, monasteries have shaped society since the Pagan period. Doing good deeds to improve karma was also a common practice in the Pagan era. And merit-making was also responsible for the founding of Pagan's great temples. I'm visiting one of the empire's greatest architectural achievements. This is the Ananda Temple, completed in about 1105 by King Anuradha's great successor, King Cancita. To find out about its symbolism, I'm speaking to art historian Charlotte Galloway. If you look closely, you can see that these are actually in the shape of a stylised lotus petal. The lotus flower starts closed, emerges from the mud completely clean. It's a symbol of purity. And as you go through the stages of enlightenment, the lotus flower also opens. I see. So, the shape of the spire is reaching out towards enlightenment, higher and higher. And what about these green glazed tiles? They are so striking. Yes, these would have been a wonderfully vivid turquoise blue. Below each tile, there is an inscription which is in mon script. The tiles show scenes from the Buddha's past lives, called the Jataka stories. Another motif really catches my eye. It's so interesting that there are two bodies and one head. It's such a clever architectural device. They wrap around the corner of the building. And so, the lower halves are literally split in two. So, from whatever direction you come from, you're seeing the whole lion. Its open mouth is about spreading the Buddha's teachings. And that is why also we see the lions up on the rooftops. That is part of their function, as well as offering protection. These lions remind me of Chinese guardian lions. It shows how interlinked we all are. And Ananda Temple is a real mix of influences. Its archways, believed to be from Pugh culture, became a part of Bagan's refined aesthetic. And their temples were built taller than ever before, as a beacon of Buddhism and a new Burmese identity. By the turn of the 12th century, pilgrims from as far as Thailand, India, Sri Lanka and China came here. Bagan became a centre of Buddhism, with one of the world's highest concentrations of Buddhist architecture, which saw the rise in demand for intricate religious goods. And so, the Bagan era was also the dawn of Burmese lacquerware. Over 4,000 craftsmen still specialise in creating these intricate works of art. It's really silent because there are no machines. Everything is handmade, like it was in the old days. Myanmar is one of only a few countries where lacquerware is still handmade in the traditional way. This is just amazing. This workshop is run by third-generation artisan, Mala Win Maung. And I'm getting a crash course in the first steps of making a lacquer bowl. It's okay, you can start from this part. The base is smoothed out and built up using clay. Then up to 20 layers of lacquer, made from tree resin, is applied, which gives it the trademark gloss. Next comes my favourite part, scratching in the ornate patterns. I think this is a technique unique to Bagan. It seems a very interesting way to decorate lacquer, which is ultimately just a plain colour. So, how long would it take for a scene like this to be completed? From the beginning to the end, it would take one and a half years. Once the designs are etched in, resin is applied to the grooves. There, just wipe it off. Then a powdered pigment is rubbed in to stain them a shade of orange. Quite often, the best things are difficult to make, and lacquer, clearly, is a very tricky process. Yet, it still survives here. Willpower, need, and the love of beauty and heritage, everything combines so beautifully. Lacquer in Bagan was used to make everything from Buddhas to ceremonial vessels. And it was also used by the royal court. Some think lacquerware came from the Mon craftsmen of the south. Others say it's from the Shan states in the east. Or perhaps it was inherited from the Piu people via the southern Chinese region called Yun, which is also the word for lacquer in Burmese. What's clear is that Bagan, with a demand for royal and religious finery, was instrumental in honing and taking this technique to a new level. But old designs are giving rise to a new art, like this, Bagan ink. Chan Mie Ko first started body painting at the age of 19. He's inspired by motifs found in the city's ancient structures. It's quite cool, actually. I think I might try one. I'm in his hands. I'm going to leave this completely up to him. I'm really hoping for something fantastic, something that will make me start wearing sleeveless shirts. I feel an armband appearing. I wonder if the architects from the ancient days ever imagined that their designs would appear on the arms of travellers in modern Bagan. Oh my goodness, I'm the first one. With the outline complete, it's on to the colouring, in red and green, a nod to Bagan's old murals. I love how green is perfect on my skin. Triangles like these are often found on the pillars of Bagan-era temples. Wow. And it's done. Oh, look at that. I feel like a Bagan warrior. By the 13th century, Bagan had become one of the most important cities in the world. Bagan was a world-famous Buddhist centre with, some estimate, over 10,000 religious structures. But it was this excess that also had a hand in bringing down the empire. 800 years ago, Bagan grew as a Buddhist empire with a deep culture of merit-making. But in the late 13th century, a formidable foe was gathering to the north. In 1271, envoys from China's Mongol ruler, Kublai Khan, reached the courts of Bagan's 12th ruler, King Narathihapate. But when they didn't remove their shoes in his presence, so the story goes, the king had them executed. To kill the insolent king, Mongol forces marched south in 1283. The Mongols had 12,000 horsemen compared to Bagan's 2,000 battle elephants. The sight of the elephants made their horses cower. So, the Mongols dismounted, lured the Bagan army into a clearing, and rained arrows on them. King Narathihapate fled the city, then surrendered before he was assassinated in 1287, marking the end of the great Bagan Empire. Over 700 years later, the city's monuments still stand as a reminder of Myanmar's origins. To find out how they are being protected, I'm visiting Tat Binyu. The name means omniscience, and at over 60 metres, it's the tallest temple in Bagan. But in 2016, it was struck by a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake. And the race is now on to save it from collapse. Overseeing the project is So So Lin. Wow, so the scaffolding goes right up to the top of the vaulted ceiling. They will make the calculation and the investigation, and then find the methodology. So, the top of each pipe has to really just be at the right level. So, you have to adjust this one by one for every single piece? Yes, every single piece. Wow. The restoration is projected to last nine years. The Burmese have been working very closely with the Chinese, the Koreans, the Americans, the Japanese and the Germans to try and fix all the damage caused by the earthquakes. All this damage and repair, time and time again, is actually such a natural part of Bagan's heritage. In 2019, Bagan finally gained recognition from the world as a UNESCO Heritage Site. The area is now a protection zone. But right in its centre, one building stands out. A bold interpretation of King Anarata's Royal Palace. To tell me more about it is historian, Nan Chlang. These towers, they are so golden, and they soar right up to the sky. What kind of hall would this be? I think this is a wonderful idea, and I love that there are two Bagan's. It actually keeps the past alive. It may not be an accurate portrayal, but this is still a big draw for local visitors. It's a fascinating glimpse into the minds of the modern Burmese. Because it's an idealised vision of the Bagan Empire, and how they originated all things quintessentially Burmese. It reflects how history and identity are in this ever-shifting dance to define the other. Burmese identity is being embraced here in other unusual ways. Somo U and Jasai, locals from Mandalay, are here for their wedding photos. Western romance and Bagan in the background, it's crazy. This is exactly the kind of mixed-up thing I love. But in 40-degree heat, they don't hang about. It's on to the next location. Chor Win Lat has been photographing newlyweds here for six years, and business is booming. He's a Burmese of Chinese descent, which means we also have a language in common. He says about 10 times a month he comes to Bagan, so that's about 100 times a year. I mean, that's a lot. Modern weddings and ancient temples are so different, but it all comes together very naturally. These temples are ritualistic sites. Wedding photography, on the other hand, is a modern document of a different, but equally meaningful kind of devotion. Bagan, originally a small principality in central Myanmar, made clever use of natural resources to engage in military and diplomatic conquests. Religious devotion was an important motivator for this expansion, and the capital city grew into a shining beacon for the study of Buddhism that was renowned throughout the world. But their biggest legacy lies closer to home. The unification of the different peoples in the plains, mountains, and coastlines of Myanmar is a blueprint that is continued today. After the downfall of the Bagan Empire in 1287, Myanmar was only reunited as one nation again over two centuries later. As it increasingly opens up to the world beyond its borders, the story of the great Bagan Empire is a poignant reminder of how a new culture was formed from diverse influences. Creating a lasting identity that still defines the nation.