History of Ayutthaya - Temples & Ruins

WAT KHOK MUANG (วัดโคกม่วง)

Wat Khok Muang is located on the city island beside a small road east of Wat Maha
T hat. The street is sometimes referred to as Bang-Ian Road on some maps, but locals
never use this name. This deserted ruin is easy to find. The Boat Museum and Wat Maha
That are the nearest landmarks.

Wat Khok Muang is oriented in a east/west axis. In situ are three structures. To the east
is a brick bell tower. It has five steps leading to the top and much of its stucco remains.
In the middle of the monastery is a small sermon hall. A Bodhi tree is growing from the
foundation where the altar would have been. There is a fragment of a sema stone beside
the tree. The third structure is a mondop, which is perfectly aligned on the western side.
This has a staircase and several redented corners. Wat Khok Muang has been
renovated by the Fine Arts Department.

There is to clear record of this monastery’s history. The architectural style suggests that it
was constructed in the Late Ayutthaya period. Its location would have been reasonably
close to Khlong Pratu Khao Pluak, but Wat Khok Muang was also accessible by
footpath. D e La Mare’s 1751 map features an unnamed pagoda that would have been in
this approximate location.

Text & photographs by Ken May - August 2009

View of a monastic hall of Wat Khok Muang

Addendum

Wat Khok Muang or the "Monastery of the Purple Mound" is indicated on a map dr afted
in the mid-19th century and on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map of 1926.

The ruins of the monastery are located in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 24.76" N,
100° 34' 21.99" E.

Addendum & maps by Tricky Vandenberg - January 2011
Updated August 2014