| WAT PAK NAM (วัดปากน้ำ) |
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| Wat Pak Nam or the Monastery at the Mouth of the River was located off Ayutthaya's city island in the southeastern area at Ko Rian Sub-district. The temple stood on the east bank of the Chao Phraya River and at the mouth of the Suan Phlu Canal just opposite the English settlement in an area called Pak Nam Mae Bia. Wat Pak Nam is mentioned on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map drafted in 1926. There are no traces remaining in situ above ground level. Some remains of the temple were excavated by the Fine Arts Department (FAD) in Geo Coord: 14° 20' 16.19" N, 100° 34' 38.72" E (based on 2007 map). Its historical background and period of construction are unknown. The monastery is called Wat Sing Pak Nam on a 1993 FAD map. In the manuscript 'Testimony of the king from Wat Pradu Songtham', a document likely compiled in the Early Ratanakosin period, is written that there was a land market at Wat Sing in front of the Japanese building (1) [1][2] Whether or not we had two temples in the area being Wat Pak Nam and Wat Sing or one single monastery as mentioned on the 1993 FAD map remains unanswered. In my opinion the location of the English settlement indicated on the 2007 FAD map is not correct and the location could have been the contender of Wat Sing. References: [1] Khamhaikan khun luang wat pradu songtham: ekkasan jak ho luang [Testimony of the king at Wat Pradu Songtham: documents from the palace]. Edited by Winai Pongsripian. Bangkok: Committee to Edit and Print Thai Historical Documents, Office of the Cabinet, 1991. [2] Note on the Testimonies and the Description of Ayutthaya - Chris Baker - Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 99, 2011 - page 77 (paragraph on KWPS). |
| Text & maps by Tricky Vandenberg - May 2009 Updated April 2011, October 2013, June 2015 |
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| (Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno 1926) |
| (Detail of a 1993 Fine Arts Department map - Courtesy Khun Supot Prommanot, Director of the 3th Regional Office of Fine Arts) |
| (Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region) |
