Lum Mueang

Lum Mueang is a puzzle carved into bedrock: a row of small circular holes, each about 0.4 metres across and roughly 0.5 metres deep, spaced about a metre apart like a line of giant mortars, at the site of the ancient settlement of Nang Amara Thewi (Ban Kok Kwang) in Si Maha Phot district, Prachin Buri. Nobody has settled on what they were for. Entry is free.

Two explanations compete. Older generations in the area believed the holes were pits for a folk gambling game — also called lum mueang — played during festivals like Songkran, where players took turns dropping tokens in to win stakes, which is where the name comes from. King Rama V visited and recorded the site in 1908, and leaned toward a more practical theory in his notes: that the holes were used for grinding lime to decorate nearby stone monuments. Even the king’s own account left the question open, and it still is.

Insider Tip: The site is small and easy to miss if you’re not looking for it — pair it with a visit to Si Mahosot Ancient Town, the Dvaravati-period moated city remains nearby in the same district, to make sense of the wider archaeological area rather than viewing the holes in isolation.

Watch out: This is an open, unstaffed archaeological site with no interpretive centre on-site — bring water and expect a plain field of bedrock rather than a built monument or museum experience. There’s little shade.

Getting there is straightforward by local transport or a short drive from central Si Maha Phot district; the site sits off Soi Thetsaban 10. Combine it with Sa Morakot Archaeological Site, another Dvaravati-era site in the same district, if you’re building out a half-day of Prachin Buri’s ancient history rather than a single stop.