[The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage] A Talk by Professor Piriya Krairiksh Contrary to the accepted belief that the centre of Dvāravatī, Thailand’s earliest kingdom from the 6th-10th century, was located at Nakhon Pathom, Dr. Piriya first proposed in a lecture given to the National Museum Volunteers Pattaya Branch in March 2016 that Dvāravatī should be located at Si Thep in Phetchabun province. He reiterated his conviction in another lecture presented to the National Museum Volunteers at the Bangkok National Museum in November 2019. In 2023 he delivered a lecture, entitled “Where was Dvāravatī?”, at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, in April and again in September at the Museum of Civilizations, Rome, Italy. Dr. Piriya based his arguments on interdisciplinary studies of historical, geographical and art historical evidences to support the hypothesis that Dvāravatī was located at Si Thep, all of which corroborates his view. Professor Piriya Krairiksh is a prolific author, artist, and scholar of South East Asian art history. Upon completing a thesis entitled The Chula Pathon Cedi: Architecture and Sculpture of Dvaravati, he obtained his doctorate from Harvard University in 1975. He served as a curator of Asian art at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra (1976-77), before returning to Thailand, where he taught first at Silpakorn University (1977-78), and subsequently at Thammasat University (1978-2002). In 1999, Piriya was named the TRF Senior Research Scholar by the, then, Thailand Research Fund (TRF). He was President of The Siam Society (1989-92), and Director of Thai Khadi Research Institute at Thammasat University (2003-2006). He has published widely, and well beyond his official retirement. In 2012, he founded the Piriya Krairiksh Foundation to promote and encourage the study of and new thinking on the art history of Thailand and the neighbouring countries. ---- Disclaimer The Siam Society is diffusing this lecture for academic, educational and scholarly research purposes only. At no times does The Siam Society take responsibility for any ideas and opinions presented by the lecturer or persons making comments or asking questions. The Siam Society is deeply grateful to the James H.W. Thompson Foundation for its generous support of the Lecture Series.