Long before Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, an earlier civilization flourished in central Thailand – Dvaravati. For over a century, scholars have sought its true location. Drawing on art history, archaeology, history, and geography and illuminated through data visualization, this book compares five candidate sites to unravel the mystery.

Among the sites, Si Thep, once half-buried and long dismissed as a peripheral curiosity, emerges as the most compelling contender for the lost realm of Dvaravati.