Moated sites of the Iron Age in the Mun River Valley, Thailand: New discoveries using Google Earth

Archeological sites that are surrounded by moats in Northeast Thailand were identified in the early 20th century and have generated interest ever since. Subsequent research has revealed that these sites fluoresced during the Iron Age (c. 500 B.C.–A.D. 600) but the purpose of the moats remains enigmatic. Pedestrian survey and aerial photographs have assisted in understanding the distribution of these sites across the landscape and has shown that they concentrate in the Mun and Chi Valleys of the Khorat Plateau. This paper presents the identification of 146 newly identified sites using Google Earth satellite imagery and identifies the presence of clusters of moated settlements in these regions through statistical analysis.