The temples are incredibly built. Ever since, I believe our ancestors have known better than us, from medicine to architecture to different things. In Old Bagan, the ancestors there must be very skilled to build the temples perfectly and firmly. There are many things hiding in our history that could help the present people in operating in today's world. I just see it that way.
You're right, they're even better and right now we're just perfecting what they learned and did.