The Lost Bell of Dhammazedi
The largest bell ever made is said to lie in the mud of a river in Myanmar, lost when the vessel carrying it sank.
What was reported
In 1484 King Dhammazedi of the Hanthawaddy kingdom had an enormous bronze bell cast and gave it to the Shwedagon Pagoda. Accounts suggest it weighed around 300 tonnes, which would make it the largest bell ever made.
In 1608 the Portuguese adventurer Filipe de Brito e Nicote took it from the pagoda, intending to melt it down for cannon. As it was being carried across the river, the vessel sank, and the bell went down near where the Bago and Yangon rivers meet.
Explanations offered
Many searches, including sonar surveys, have failed to find it. The river bed is deep mud, the water is almost opaque and strong currents make diving dangerous. Some doubt it was ever as heavy as claimed. The search goes on.
- When
- Lost in 1608
- Where
- Yangon River, Yangon, Myanmar
- Witnesses
- Portuguese and Burmese records
- Status
- Never found
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.