| WAT TAWET (วัดเตว็ด) |
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| Text, maps & photographs by Tricky Vandenberg Updated April 2020 |
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| The remains of Wat Tawet or the Monastery of the Guardian Spirit are situated off the city island, in the southern area of Ayutthaya in Samphao Lom Sub-district. The monastery was situated on the west bank of Khlong Khu Cham, in between Wat Noina and Wat Tama; and nearly opposite of Wat Tha Hoi. In situ is a restored ruin of an ancient temple, which was excavated and restored in 2015. The foundations of a monastic structure in an east-west alignment located to the south of the site were reconstructed. The southern wall of a north-south aligned monastic structure still stands and was restored, as well as its foundations reconstructed. The stucco decoration on the gables is still visible. A large monastic structure to the east of the restored wall was excavated but not restored. A newly laid brick path leads to a flight of stairs to the location where once the Khu Cham canal bank was. The stairs reach down about 3 meters below the present road longing the right bank of the canal. The stairs are today about 10 meters distant from the canal, which gives us an idea of the former width of the Khu Cham Canal, being a short cut canal of the old Chao Phraya River. Fragmented bricks and remains of Buddha statues can be seen on the premises. The site seems not to have been surrounded by a moat (as earlier written). Its historical background and period of construction are unknown. The site, estimated being a square with sides of 130 meters, has been a victim of treasure farming and brick stripping in the mid-20th century (as nearly all the sites in Ayutthaya). The ruins of Wat Tawet are located in geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 14.08" N, 100° 33' 46.18" E. |
| (Standing wall of Wat Tawet seen from the south) |
| (Standing wall of Wat Tawet seen from the north) |
| (Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region) |
