Located 75 kilometres north of the capital, Viengkham was once the capital of Phainam, which was believed to have been established in the 8th century by the Mon. Initially centred on the island of Don Kang, Phainam increased steadily in size over the ensuing centuries, and by the 14th century it is said to have covered an area of more than 10 square kilometres on the west bank of the Nam Ngum River. At some point before its conquest by King Fa Ngum, Phainam seems to have become part of a wider territory which also included Candapuri (Chanthaburi) - thus began the close relationship between the twin cities of Viengtiane and Viengkham. The strategic importance of Phainam is suggested by the legend which surrounds its capture by King Fa Ngum, founder of Lane Xang, and the fact that the sacred pha bang image was subsequently installed here for nearly 150 years before being moved to Luang Prabang in the early 16th century. According to that legend, on the eve of the establishment of Lane Xang in the mid 14th century, Chanthaburi (Vientiane) was ruled by one Thao Xieng Mung and Phainam (Viengkham) by his son Phragna Pao. Thao Xieng Mung mustered an army of 20,000 men and 500 elephants to defend Chanthaburi from Fa Ngum’s advancing troops, but was subsequently killed in battle. Fa Ngum’s army then pursued Phragnao Pao's retreating army back to Phainam, but initially failed to capture the city since it was surrounded by a high earthen rampart and a natural barrier of thick bamboo. Fa Ngum therefore resorted to a clever ruse - he got his soldiers to pin gold to their arrows and shoot them into the bamboo thicket, then withdrew to make Phainam’s inhabitants think that the attacking army had left. The citizens of Phainam subsequently came out and cut away the vegetation in order to collect the gold, leaving the way clear for Fa Ngum's army to conquer Phainam and rename it Viengkham - city (vieng) of gold (kham). Archaeological excavations at the site in 2002 uncovered the remains of city walls, the foundations of a temple and numerous bai sema or sacred border markers typical of those used by the Dvaravati kingdom, plus a burial ground with ceramic urns and various other ceramic, iron, bronze and stone artefacts. At the centre of the site lie the remains of the ancient temple, which once comprised a sim (ordination hall) and a smaller adjacent hall. A canopy erected on the foundations of the sim houses several Buddha statues of indeterminate date, however the real focus of interest is the adjacent building, known locally as the Thene Pha Bang, which scholars believe was erected by Fa Ngum to house the sacred pha bang image. Fa Ngum is said to have brought the pha bang to Viengkham in 1359 while en route to Xiang Dong Xiang Thong (Luang Prabang), but due to some inauspicious omens he decided not to take it any further but rather to house it in Viengkham, making it necessary to build a special temple to house the image. The badly fired bricks of many different shapes and sizes which litter the site support this story, providing evidence of hurried construction. The sacred pha bang Buddha image was subsequently kept in Viengkham for 150 years before being transferred to Luang Prabang by King Wisunarath (1500-1520).