WAT PA KHONTHI (วัดป่าคนที)
Wat Pa Khonthi (1) or the Monastery of the Water Pot Quarter (2) is a defunct
temple before located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in Hua Ro Sub-
district.

The monastery was situated between Wat Mae Nang Plum and Wat Wihan Thong on
the east side of a road leading to a former village called Ban Mo or Potter's Village.

Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown.

The temple is mentioned in the Testimony of Khun Luang Wat Pradu Songtham. The
text mentions that there was a boat ferry existing between the city island and Wat Pa
Khonthi in front of the street leading to Ban Mo. (3) The same document also states that
there was a land market in front of Wat Pa Khonthi. [2][4][5][6]

The temple is not mentioned on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926
(4), but features on a map drafted in the mid-19th century.

Wat Pa Khonthi must have been located in Approx. Geo. Coord.: 14° 22' 1.60"
N, 100° 34' 9.27" E.

Footnotes:

(1) Khonthi (Th) - Water pot or water jug.
(2) The word "pa" (ป่า) is normally translated as "forest" but in the Ayutthayan era it
indicated also a place were specific products were made and/or sold. Chris Baker
translates it as "a quarter". [1]
(3) In Ayutthayan times there were twenty-two ferry routes between the main land and
the city island. In the northern area, the six other crossings were: Tha Nuea to Wat Khun
Yuan, Tha Ma Ap Nam to Wat Choeng Tha, Tha Khan to Sala Trawen, Tha Sip Bia to
Wat Pho, Wat Tha Sai to Wat Rong Khong and Tha Khun Nang to Wat Mae Nang
Plum. [4] See "The Boat & Ferry Landings of Ayutthaya". [2]
(4) Phraya Boran Rachathanin [PBR] indicates another temple, Wat Tha Khlong, south
of Wat Mae Nang Plum. Either Wat Tha Khlong is the most southern monastic structure
on the premises of Wat Mae Nang Plum, or Wat Pa Khonthi was renamed Wat Tha
Khlong on PBR's map. Another possibility could be that there were before two temples
between Wat Mae Nang Plum and Wat Wihan Thong, being as thus Wat Tha Khlong
and Wat Pa Khonthi. More research is needed on this issue.

References:

[1] Chris Baker - Before Ayutthaya Fell: Economic Life in an Industrious Society -
Markets and Production in the City of Ayutthaya before 1767: Translation and Analysis
of Part of the Description of Ayutthaya - Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 99, 2011 -
page 49.
[2] Khamhaikan Khun Luang Wat Pradoosongtham [the testimony of Khun Luang Wat
Pradu Songtham] (2534) Bangkok: The Secretariat Office to Prime Minister - page 55.
[3] Athibai Phaenthi Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya kap khamwinitjai khong Phraya Boran
Racha Thanin - Explanation of the map of the Capital of Ayutthaya with a ruling
of Phraya Boran Rachathanin - Revised 2nd edition and Geography of the Ayutthaya
Kingdom - Ton Chabab print office - Nonthaburi (2007) - page 92.
[4] Phanna phumisathan phranakhon si ayutthaya: ekkasan jak ho luang [Geographical
description of Ayutthaya: Documents from the palace]. Edited by Winai Pongsripian.
Bangkok: Usakane, n. d. [2007].
[5] Note on the Testimonies and the Description of Ayutthaya - Chris Baker - Journal of
the Siam Society, Vol. 99, 2011 - page 77 (paragraph on KWPS).
[6] Chris Baker - Markets and Production in the City of Ayutthaya before 1767:
Translation and Analysis of Part of the Description of Ayutthaya - Journal of the Siam
Society, Vol. 99, 2011- page 52.
Text & map by Tricky Vandenberg - October 2010
Updated May 2011, October 2013, January 2015
Detail of a 19th century map
(Detail of a 19th century map - map is orientated S-N)