A decade later, he was reporting on his own excavations at the site; one that will always remain seminal in our understanding of the early exposure of lron Age societiesto the burgeoning maritime exchange system sometimes known as The Southern Silk Road. His 1980 summary of the excavations at Ban Don Ta Phet noted the wealth of the mortuary offerings in this Iron Age cemetery,including hard stone beads, bronzes, iron tools and weapons, and glass jewellerv.