The Moidams of the Ahom dynasty, Assam's World Heritage royal necropolis

Background

"Moidams – the Mound-Burial System of the Ahom Dynasty" is on the UNESCO World Heritage List under cultural criteria (iii) and (iv), with a date of inscription of 2024 and reference number 1711. UNESCO's description reads: "Set in the foothills of the Patkai Ranges in eastern Assam, the property contains the royal necropolis of the Tai-Ahom. For 600 years, the Tai-Ahom created moidams (burial mounds) accentuating the natural topography of hills, forests and water, thus forming a sacred geography." Ninety moidams – hollow vaults built of brick, stone or earth – of different sizes are found within the site, and the record covers 600 years from the 13th to the 19th centuries CE. The vaults held the remains of kings and royalty, at times with queens, servants and grave goods. The property area is 96.5 ha, with a buffer zone of 793.7 ha. Living Tai-Ahom ritual practices of ancestor worship continue at the Charaideo necropolis.