Ingapu (Burmese: အင်္ဂပူမြို့) is a town in the Ayeyarwady Division of south-west Myanmar. It is the seat of the Ingapu Township in the Myanaung District located along the Ngawun River.

Ingapu
အင်္ဂပူမြို့
Town
Ingapu is located in Myanmar
Ingapu
Ingapu
Location in Myanmar
Coordinates: 17°48′32″N 95°16′27″E / 17.80889°N 95.27417°E / 17.80889; 95.27417
Country Myanmar
Region Ayeyarwady Region
DistrictMyanaung District
TownshipIngapu Township
Population
 (2019)
22,225[1]
Time zoneUTC+6:30 (MMT)

History

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The lost city described as Pinle Pyu (lit.'Sea Pyu') is recorded as being located next to the sea. Unlike many other small Pyu sites, the city is speculated to be large in size located downstream from the Sri Ksetra Kingdom. Some archaeologist believe that a walled ancient religious complex 15 miles west of Ingapu may be the location of Pinle Pyu, one of the lost Pyu city-states. Historians who studied the site in 2009 concluded the site may be a Pyu site based on the use of Brahmi script, a script that dates towards the third century BC, and the architectural similarities to other Pyu sites.[2] The site is currently a religious site owned by the clergy of the Kyapyin Religious Zone.[3][4]

The ancient ruin was excavated in 2014 dated to determine if the 2,000-year-old artifacts were of the Pyu culture or not.[5] However, more evidence and investigation is required to analyze the ancient artifacts found in the site and from nearby sites.[6] The site has faced challenges with becoming a protected site. In the 2000s, an area that may have been an ancient elephant stockade was reclaimed by a company and destroyed during development.[2]

Ingapu, the modern town, was named as one of the 32 surrounding villages of Pathein by the ancient king Samuddha Gotha's wife Omar Dhanti. By the time of the Konbaung Dynasty the group of villages was known as Okpho when it was given to Thihaboh Min after Alaungpaya's conquests. The name Okhpo originates, by legend, from the village's role baking bricks for the Shwemokhtaw Pagoda in Pathein during the time of Omar Dhanti. The town was renamed in 1852 to its ancient name of Ingapu after the Second Anglo-Burmese War by the British to distinguish it from Okpho in Bago Region.[1][7]

References

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  1. ^ a b Myanmar Information Management Unit (September 2019). Ingapu Myone Daethasaingyarachatlatmya အင်္ဂပူမြို့နယ် ဒေသဆိုင်ရာအချက်လက်များ [Ingapu Township Regional Information] (PDF) (Report). MIMU. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Ancient Irrawaddy Delta City Believed to be 2,300 Years Old".
  3. ^ "Religious site could hail from Ancient Pyu Kingdom". DVB. Archived from the original on 2021-02-24. Retrieved 2022-11-20.
  4. ^ "Ingapu (Burma): Religious site could hail from ancient Pyu kingdom". Archeolog-home/INDIana-UNIversitas.
  5. ^ "Ancient Burmese kingdom awarded World Heritage status". www.dvb.no. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Fossil footprints of early humans found in Ingapu ancient city". 20 October 2016.
  7. ^ မြန်မာ့စွယ်စုံကျမ်း [Encyclopedia of Myanmar]. Vol. 15.

17°49′N 95°16′E / 17.817°N 95.267°E / 17.817; 95.267