Charaideo Maidams commonly known as pyramids of Assam was the original capital of the Ahom Kings built by Chaolung Sukhapa the founder of the dynasty in about 1229 CE.
This place is located at the foothills of Nagaland. Its distance from the historical town of Sivsagar is about 30 km. It is situated towards the east of this town.
Though the capital of the Ahom kingdom moved many times, Charaideo remained the symbolic center. It contains sacred burial grounds of Ahom kings and queens and is also the place of ancestral Gods of the Ahoms. 42 tombs (Maidams) of Ahom kings and queens at Charaideo hillocks are comparable to the Pyramids of Egypt and are objects of wonder revealing the excellent architecture and skill of the sculptors and masons of Assam of the medieval days.
Architecturally it comprises a massive underground vault with one or more chambers having domical superstructure and covered by a heap of earthen mound and externally it appears a hemispherical mound. At the top of the mound a small open pavilion chow-chali is provided. An octagonal dwarf wall encloses whole maidam. The Ahoms preferred to place the departed family members at Charaideo where the first king Sukapha was laid to rest. The historical chronicles inform that wives, attendants, pet animals and huge quantity of valuables were buried with the departed kings.
Lack of any preservation scheme from the government is another reason for the slow extinction of the remains of the temples as earth cutting of the Maidams and hillocks by ignorant illegal settlers are causing irreparable damages to the Maidams. Even the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), in its bid to "explore and unearth the mystery of Maidams", has badly damaged a big Maidam and the action can be termed nothing less than gross criminal negligence.
The actual number of Maidam has exceeded 150 but only 30 Maidams are protected by the Archeological Survey of India and Assam State Archeology Department, and the remaining Maidams are unprotected. Most of these unprotected Maidams are encroached by people and so going to be damaged. The biggest unprotected Maidam is the Bali Maidam near Nimonagarh. This Maidam is called Bali Maidam, because while British plundered it, they got obstruction from excess sands (Bali) in the surrounding of the Maidam.
The site has had some archeological works but also has suffered from robbers. There have been calls for the site to be UNESCO World Heritage listed. Charaideo is still revered and continoues to be a place of worship for the Ahoms. Charaideo was also belived to be the abode of God "LANKURI" identified with lord "SHIVA".