From 30 January 2023 to 3 February 2023, SEAMEO SPAFA was in Lao PDR teaching the faculty and students of the Department of History and Archaeology at the National University of Laos on the principles of rock art research, such as recording and analysis with a field training element later in the week. The Pak Lai site is in Xayabouli province, about 5 hours west of Vientiane.
After learning about the principles of rock art recording, the participants recorded an actual rock art site in the middle of the Mekong river. What was initially thought to be 6 rock carvings, was around 60 after a closer look. After returning to the village, work continued with interviews to gather local knowledge and perspectives about the rock art. The last couple of days were spent on lecturers learning how to prepare site reports and digital image enhancements.
To round off the successful week of technical training at Pak Lai Rock Art Cultural Heritage Preservation in Laos, a closing ceremony was held at the National University of Laos with SEAMEO SPAFA Centre Director and the Dean of Department of History, National University of Laos, Assoc. Prof Dexanourath Seneduangdeth giving closing remarks.
SEAMEO SPAFA Centre Director, Mr Khemchat Thepchai, expressed his desire to expose the participants to further training in the future. Certificates were presented to the field training participants, and gifts of appreciation were presented to Mr Khemchat Thepchai and SEAMEO SPAFA Senior Specialist in Archaeology, Dr. Noel H. Tan.
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