The Pyu occupied several sites across Upper Myanmar, with Sri Ksetra recorded as the largest, the city wall enclosing an area of 1,477 hectares,[3] although a recent survey found it enclosed 1,857 hectares within its monumental brick walls, with an extramural area of a similar size, being the largest Southeast Asian city before Angkor times.

A widely held belief, based on the interpretation of the extensive interdisciplinary evidence suggests that Sri Ksetra was founded between the fifth and seventh centuries by the Pyu people.

[9] This early date in the first centuries of the first millennium AD would place the Pyu as one of the earliest urbanised people in Southeast Asia.

In conjunction to archaeological evidence, there are a number of written records that mention the Pyu, largely found in Chinese historical accounts.

[15] While these written records assist with the dating of Sri Ksetra and demonstrate cross-cultural interactions, they are fragmented and cannot all be backed by other evidence.

[16] Trade with India brought important cultural influences to Sri Ksetra, including the arrival of Buddhism, which was imposed on existing belief systems.

[20][21] Given the evidence for the dating of Sri Ksetra to earlier than the seventh century, it is likely that Pyu kings existed prior to names mentioned on the burial urns.

Burmese chronicle sources, on the other hand, suggest the Sri Ksetra dynasty was established in 444 BC by King Duttabaung (ဒွတ္တပေါင်), however no archaeological evidence has been from this early date.

The brothers were scions of the Tagaung Kingdom located in Upper Burma, and ultimately descended from kings Abhiyaza and Dazayaza, both of whom belonged to the Sakya clan of the Buddha.

[23] With their newfound vision, the brothers arrived at the environs of Sri Ksetra (near present-day Pyay (Prome)), whose Pyu inhabitants had been at war with Kanyan people.

The most prominent feature of the city is the circular plan, marked by a semi-circle of ramparts on the north, south and western sides.

With the fall of Sri Ksetra in the mid-ninth century, king Anawrahta opened the stūpa and removed the relic which was re-installed at this capital in Bagan.

The complex comprises several structures: (a) the Payahtaung temple proper, a square building of brick similar in style to some of the buildings in Bagan and dating to the circa tenth century, (b) a modern temple to the east, (c) a ruined brick stūpa, (d) the foundations of a small ruined structure and (e) an octagonal brick building that contained a massive stone urn inscribed in the Pyu language giving what appears to be a memorial record of the Pyu kings.

The Khin Ba mound is located inside the ramparts, on the south side of the city, not far from the Tharawaddy gate and Mathe Gyagone stūpa.

[29] The reliquary, inscribed in Pyu and Pali, was accompanied by a series of golden leaves carrying a Buddhist text of the sixth century.

An art historical study of a stele discovered at Sri Ksetra suggests a first century AD date, which would make it the earliest Pyu artwork, however, this is contested among scholars.

However, the existence of sculpture and fragments depicting Hindu deities, most often Vishnu, suggests that Vaishnavism was practised alongside Buddhism.

The variety of Buddhist material includes votive tablets, stone sculptures, bronze and other precious metal sculptures, architectural fragments, and reliquary objects, as well as other artefacts including handmade beads crafted from stone, glass, terracotta and bone; rings; and silver bowls and plates.

Silver Buddha sculptures recovered from the relic chamber of the Khin Ba mound display stylistic features also found in Sri Lanka, including broad shoulders, shortened necks, individual hair curls, and transparent robes.

[38] Buddha and stupa triads, use of megaliths, and shared imagery have been cited as demonstrating the influences of these neighbouring Southeast Asian cultures.