The discovery of a hoard of gold has sparked a frenzy of digging by locals in Thailand’s Phatthalung province, with the Fine Arts Department trying to stem the rush in an effort to preserve archaeological material.
Golden treasure hoard found in Phatthalung
Bangkok Post, 29 May 2014
Locals asked to refrain from gold digging
The Nation, 29 May 2014
Fine Arts Department promises to compensate Phatthalung locals for gold artifacts
NNT, 29 May 2014
Police move in to halt ‘gold rush’ frenzy
Bangkok Post, 30 May 2014
More join hunt for gold at plantation
The Nation, 30 May 2014
Ban on Phatthalung gold rush
Bangkok Post, 31 May 2014
The Fine Arts Department will take control of the field where an ancient hoard of buried gold was found in Phatthalung’s Khao Chaison district last weekend, sparking a local, frenzied rush to dig up the treasure.
The gold cache was uncovered after the land owner hired a backhoe to prepare the ground to plant four-rai of oil palm trees.
After heavy rain last Saturday, the land owner and workers planting the trees came across a buried hoard of gold.
The news spread and a gold rush followed with hundreds of people from nearby villages and even nearby provinces rushing to dig for a share of the treasure.
Full story here.
