ID
In recent times an interest has arisen among the
French scholars to reconstruct the history of Siam.
We find an eminent scholar AUGUSTE J. PAVIE
making an extensive excursion in the kingdoms of
Siam and Camboja. He embodied the results of his
investigations in Excursions dans le Cambodge et le
royaume de Siam. ( Excursions et Reconnaissances ^
no. 9. 1881).
In 1894, this Mission Pavic carried on further
researches and investigations in Indo-China. We find
the result of the work of the mission published in
Memoires et Documents publies par les membres de Id
mission sous la direction de MM._Pavie et Pierre
Lefevre Pontalis. The first part contains the trans-
cription and translation of the inscriptions of Siam.
The first comprehensive book on Siam was writ-
ten by a French scholar named LUCIEN FOURNEREAU,
who brought out his book Le Siam Ancien in two big
volumes in 1895. The book was included in Annals
du Musei Guimet Series. It deals mainly with the
archaeology, epigraphy and geography of Siam. Here
ior the first time all the inscriptions relating to Siam,
which were collected up to that time, were all brought
together with their french translation. Though the
translation of some of the inscriptions has been im-
proved by later scholars, yet the book is still valuable
for our purpose for the important old maps of Siam,
which it contains.