The
Tharabha Gate (, ; also spelled
Sarabha or
Tharaba) is the only surviving gate of
Bagan (Pagan). The gate is located to the east of the old city. Although the Burmese chronicles assert that the city of Bagan was fortified in 849 CE, radiocarbon dating of evidence dates the foundation of the main walls to c. 1020 CE.
[Aung-Thwin (2005): 38] If the city was fortified in the 9th century as the chronicles assert, the fortifications must have been built with less durable materials like mud.
The present-day gate consists of two brick-walled shrines, each opposing one another, of two guardian nats, named
Mahagiri and
Hnamadawgyi (Shwemyethna), who allegedly were executed by order of a king.
[Pictorial Guide to Pagan] The Gate allegedly has no doors, mostly due to corroding and other reasons.
3D Documentation
The
Zamani Project from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, offered its services towards the spatial documentation of monuments in Bagan in response to the destruction of monuments by an earthquake in August 2016 including the Tharabha Gate.
Notes
