inscription no. 1—on a stone stelae, supposedly dating to the thirteenth
centuryce. 6 This pushed the historical chronology of the Thai nation back
in time, and led to the consideration of Sukhothai as theWrst national
capital, predating Ayudhya (the capital from the fourteenth to the eight-
eenth century) and Bangkok. Together with historical documents and an-
cient ruins, this stelae was used to promote Thai nationalism and resistance
against French imperialism (ibid.). Rama IV’s interest in antiquity and the
Western style of narrating the past led him to become a member of one of
the antiquarian societies in Europe—the Scandinavian Royal Society of
Antiquaries of the North (Briggs 2005: 6). His knowledge of the Western
narration of the past, and of its power, becomes evident in Mongkut’s use of
historical argumentations in territorial disputes. This was the case in the
disagreement between Siam and France over the control of Cambodian
territory, when he claimed Cambodia’s long territorial links with Siam on
the basis of a chronicle of Cambodian history (Shoocongdej forthcoming).
This interest in history continued with Mongkut’s successors: Kings
Rama V (Chulalongkorn) (1868–1910) and Vajiravuth (1910–25). They
continued the process of modernization, adopting European administrative
organization which curtailed the autonomy of the provinces, encouraging
centralization. Siam was surveyed and mapped for theWrst time (ibid.),
and several institutions buttressed modernization, including mainly the
National Library created in 1874. Under Rama V a museum based on
the royal collections was created, establishing the basis for what would, in
the long term, become the National Museum of today. Research on the
ancient cities of the Thai kingdoms had as one of its main protagonists
the younger brother of Rama V, Prince Damrong.
As in Japan and China, the modernization of the state was undertaken
partly through the hiring of Westerners, and it may not come as a surprise
that the earliest interest in the antiquities of the area is to be found among
them. In 1904 the Siam Society was set up in Siam by thirty-nine individuals.
Its membership had increased four-fold by the end of theWrst year. Archae-
ology was among itsWelds of research from the start. In theWrst annual
general meeting, Colonel Emilio Gerini’s (1860–1912) intervention would be
key to the role of archaeology in the society. Gerini was an Italian oYcer who
had been appointed by King Rama V to teach the Royal Guard and organize
the Siamese Military School. Once in Siam, in addition to his duties, he
6 The authenticity of the Ramkhamhaeng inscription has recently been disputed. It has been
suggested that it could be a forgery whose fabrication can be explained in the political context of
the time (Glover 2005: 28).
238 Colonial Archaeology