| WAT SI PHO (วัดสีโพ) |
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| Text & maps by Tricky Vandenberg - August 2011 Updated October 2019 |
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| (Detail of a 19th century map - map is orientated S-N) |
| (Wat Si Pho on Kaempfer's sketch) |
| Wat Si Pho or the Monastery of the Magnificent Bodhi Tree was located off the city island in the southern area of Ayutthaya in Samphao Lom Sub-district. The monastery was situated at the confluence of Khlong Nam Ya and Khlong Takhian with the Lopburi River (at present the Chao Phraya River). The monastery stood opposite Wat Khok Phlu and Wat Klang on the bank of the canal and west of the Saint Joseph Church. There are no traces anymore visible of the monastery above ground level. Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown. Wat Si Pho is shown on Engelbert Kaempfer's sketch at the origin of Khlong Nam Ya, a canal connecting with the old Chao Phraya River at Ban Khlueng (at present the Noi River). Kaempfer was a German surgeon working for the Dutch VOC and resided in the City of Ayutthaya in June/July 1690. The site is also found on a mid-19th-century map dating back to the reign of King Rama IV (reign 1851-1868). Until today to my knowledge, the eastern corner at the mouth of Khlong Takhian has not been excavated and thus the existence of Wat Si Pho remained unconfirmed. Wat Si Pho must have been approximately located near geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 20.03" N, 100° 32' 57.35" E. |