Sukhothai is an archaeological site in Thailand.
Once a kingdom,[2] Indiana Jones visited the forgotten temples of Sukhothai in November 1937 as he investigated a mystery which linked the area with other sites around the globe.
History[]
Indiana Jones and Gina Lombardi arrived in Sukhothai in Siam in November 1937 following an unplanned visit to Shanghai, China. Sukhothai was the last site on the Great Circle that had not had its artifact recovered yet by either the Nephilim Order or Nazi archaeologist Emmerich Voss. The Nazis, in cooperation with an expeditionary force of Italian soldiers, had already begun excavating ruins in Sukhothai some time ago in search of the artifact, but their efforts had thus far failed to yield any leads. A recent flash flood also ravaged the area, raising the level of the river and complicating the dig.[1]
Sukhothai was a hotbed of conflict between the government of Siam and a group of rebels led by Pailin Chaladphukhealom, who had been pushed into hiding in the region after a series of losses. Voss and Benito Mussolini made a deal with an unnamed, corrupt general of the Royal Siamese Army: in exchange for allowing a Nazi excavation team and a Royal Italian Army division to enter Sukhothai and pillage the ruins, the General would receive generous bribes in gold bars and the Nazi-Italian expeditionary force would stamp out the rebels for him. Voss' excavations focused on Wat Mahathat, the largest of the documented ruins in Sukhothai, with the aim of uncovering the hidden temple that held the local Great Circle artifact, but weeks of digging turned up nothing, one the archaeologists under Voss posited that Wat Mahathat was likely a dead end.[1]
On the night of their arrival in Sukhothai, Indiana and Gina found themselves inadvertently caught in the middle of a battle between Siamese rebels and fascist troops. After assisting the rebels, they were taken to the village of Khaimuk Saksit, which covertly served as the rebels' main base of operations. Village elder Sunan revealed to Indiana that in his youth, he was told about the "First People" who traveled to Sukhothai aboard a "Great Raft" and built a large stone temple inside of which they sealed a sacred object called the "Blessed Pearl". As a rite of passage, Sunan ventured out of the village to find the Blessed Pearl. He met a "Yeak", or giant, deep in the marshes who knocked him out and took him inside the secret temple, where he was permitted to view the Blessed Pearl. When shown the Earthsplitter Relic by Indiana, Sunan confirmed that the Blessed Pearl was a similar object and agreed to help Indiana in his quest.[1]
Indiana retraced Sunan's journey and discovered the hidden Sukhothai Pyramid, an ancient Nephilim structure that contained a map of the region that marked the location of the separate, secret temple containing the Blessed Pearl. Locus confronted Indiana once again, but after the two killed the giant snake that guarded the pyramid, Indiana managed to overcome Locus and make his escape back to Khaimuk Saksit. Sunan was able to interpret the Nephilim map and identified Wat Mahathat as the site of the secret temple. After entering the temple beneath Wat Mahathat through a concealed entrance that had eluded the notice of the Nazis, Indiana recovered the Blessed Pearl: the Wavebreaker Relic.[1]
Locus caught up with Indiana and Gina, however, and relieved them of the two relics in their possession immediately after they emerged from the secret temple. Simultaneously, Emmerich Voss and a unit of Nazi troops ambushed the trio, forcing them to work together to escape. Following a hectic flight across the river in a motor boat while under fire from Nazis and Italian fascists, Gina was captured by Voss, who proceeded to take her to his final dig site at the Ziggurat of Ur in Iraq, knowing that Indiana would pursue them and bring the two relics. Indiana and Locus agreed to cooperate to rescue Gina and foil Voss' plans, and departed Sukhothai.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
According to Indiana Jones and the Great Circle production designer Jens Andersson, Machine Games developers did research to make sure Sukhothai made historically accurate for the game, as while it was a tourist attraction by 2024, it was overgrown with ruins back in 1937, which was the date they chose for the game's events, which they applied for its design.[3]
Appearances[]
Sources[]
Watch the New Pivotal Cinematic Moment in New Trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Coming to Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass December 9 on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org) (Pictured only) (Globe only)
- The Faces & Places of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle™ on Bethesda.net
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — Great Circle globe
- Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Digital Art Book
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
- ↑ Watch the New Pivotal Cinematic Moment in New Trailer for Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on Lucasfilm.com (backup link on Archive.org)
- ↑ Interview: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Dev Talks Making the Quintessential Indiana Jones Experience at GameRant
