AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



WAT PHUTTHAISAWAN





Wat Phutthaisawan, or the Monastery of Buddhist Kingship (1), is located in the southern area of Ayutthaya in the Samphao Lom Sub-district (2), on the south bank of the Chao Phraya River (3) and east of Khlong Thakian (4). It is opposite the mouth of Khlong Chakrai Yai (5). The temple complex faces east towards the Khu Cham (6) and is bordered on the north by the Chao Phraya River.

History

Based on the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya written between 1795 and 1855 CE, the temple was built in 1353 CE (715 CS) by King Ramathibodi I (reign 1351-1368 CE) at the royal residence of "Wiang Lek," the site where he first settled before establishing Ayutthaya as the capital city in 1351 CE. The temple was constructed after his elder brother (the ruler of Suphan) defeated the Khmers and brought them back under the control of Ayutthaya in 1352 CE. The Luang Prasoet, though, written in 1680 CE by a royal astrologer, the oldest chronicle dating before the fall of Ayutthaya, does not mention this temple.

"In 715, a year of the serpent, fifth of the decade, on Thursday, the first day of the waxing moon of the fourth month, at two nalika and five bat [F: in the morning], the King was pleased to order that a holy monastery, with a preaching hall and a great holy reliquary, be established at the Wiang Lek Royal Residence. Then he bestowed upon it the name of Phutthaisawan Monastery." [1]

Piriya Krairiksh, the old president of the Siam Society, formulated doubts about Wat Phutthaisawan being constructed shortly after Ayutthaya was established in 1351 CE. He summed up several facts. First of all, the oldest version of the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya, the Luang Prasoet Chronicle of Ayudhya, which pre-dates the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 CE, does not mention this temple. (7) [2]

Secondly, the "Van Vliet Chronicle," written in 1640 CE, cites three important temples but does not mention Wat Phutthaisawan either. Krairiksh commented that "apparently either Wat Phutthaisawan was not considered significant in 1640 or had not yet been built."

"Then Thao U Thong began to re-establish the city on the fifth day of the waxing fourth moon (in our reckoning being the month of March) in the year of the Tiger and called it Ayutthaya." He also built three temples which still considered to be the most important in the whole kingdom: the Nopphathat," the most holy Ratchaburana, the same size and shape as the Nopphathat but not visited by the kings because of a prophecy that the first king who goes in there will die shortly thereafter and Wat Doem, still the foremost [monastic?] school. [3]





(View of Wat Phutthaisawan)



Nicolas Gervaise (ca.1662-1729), a young French theological student of the Société des Missions Etrangères residing in Ayutthaya in the late 17th century (1682/83-1686 CE), wrote that "the new cloister that has been built in honour of the late queen, is filled with more than a hundred figures of women, all beautifully gilded and all with the same face and in the same posture." [4]


This new monastery is shown on Jacques Nicolas Bellin's map "Plan De La Ville De Siam" (ca 1750), a plan based on the survey of a French engineer in 1687 CE. The position of this monastery, indicated as "Pagode de la feue Reine," corresponds with the present Wat Phutthaisawan. The construction of Wat Phutthaisawan was thus likely finalised around 1685-1686 CE in the reign of King Narai (1656-1688 CE). [5]


Krairiksh added, "Judging by the custom of building a monastery and transferring the merit accrued to the deceased, ... it can be inferred that Wat Phutthaisawan was built by King Narai in memory of his queen." In addition, he wrote that the ground plan of Wat Phutthaisawan, with its central prang flanked by two smaller ones to the north and south (now transformed into mandapa), resembled the plan of Wat Maha That at Lopburi, which King Narai reconstructed in the 1660s.


The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya version Phan Canthanumat stated that the ashes from King Phetracha (reign 1688-1703 CE) of the Ban Phlu Luang Dynasty were floated in front of Wat Phutthaisawan, indicating the importance of this temple since its construction in the late 17th Century. Cushman translated: “ ... Now the holy ashes were escorted according to form and taken to be floated [on the river] in front of the Monastery of the Sovereignty of the Buddha.” [6]


Around 1750 CE, King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe (Nayakkar King 1747-1782 CE) of Kandy sent a delegation to Ayutthaya to bring back Buddhism to Ceylon. In the account of one of the Lankan Ambassadors, we read that the religious embassy visited Wat Phutthaisawan to worship there. The latter must thus have been an important monastery in the reign of King Borommakot (1733-1758 CE). [7]


Krairiksh indicated that there was much controversy regarding the construction of Wat Phutthaisawan. For example, Somdet Phra Phonnarat, in his Pali work, Sangitiya Vamsa of 1789 CE, attributed the founding of Wat Phutthaisawan to King Naresuan (reign 1590-1605 CE), while the people of Ayutthaya, taken captive to Burma in 1767 CE, attributed the founding of Wat Phutthaisawan to King Song Tham (reign 1610/1611-1628 CE) in their Statement of the Residents of the Old Capital. He concludes that Wat Phutthaisawan, an important temple in the mid-18th century, was fantasised in the historical accounts written after the fall of Ayutthaya, as the reason for its construction, being King Narai's commemoration of his queen, was already long time forgotten.


From French sources, we know that King Narai ordered the construction of Wat Phutthaisawan at the end of the 17th century, and features thus a mid to late 17th century Ayutthaya architecture. (3) The question of whether or not Wat Phutthaisawan was built upon remnants of an earlier Ayutthaya temple remains still unanswered today.





(View of Wat Phutthaisawan)



Architecture


The old temple complex was enclosed by an outer wall measuring 192 metres in length and 92 metres in width. The vihara has its entry to the east and measures 48 metres in length and 16 metres in width. A square cloister surrounds the main Khmer-style prang. The cloister is enclosed by an outer wall, along with the pillars inside, supporting the roof. The floor of the terrace is one step higher than the court. The inner wall of the cloister houses rows of Buddha images on decorated bases. Porticos lead into the gallery of seated Buddhas.


The prang, representing the cosmic Mount Meru, is located in the middle of the ancient compound and is built on an indented pedestal protruding towards the north and south, resulting in a wing-like formation, which was characteristic of prangs of the early Ayutthaya period. The "cella," or central small hall inside the prang, can be accessed through a porch in the east and only by climbing stairs. The prang has two staircases on the east and the west side. Over the cubic "cella" rises the central tower, the bud-shaped prang. The "cella" houses a Buddha image. Decorations of the porch ceilings and "cella" are still visible.


There are two satellite buildings, a mandapa to the north and the south of the central prang containing Buddha images. The difference between Khmer-built prangs and Ayutthaya prangs is that the first tapers off stepwise (in tiers of decreasing size), while the latter tapers off gradually in a smooth way. Ayutthaya prangs were mostly built with bricks and covered with stucco. On its pinnacle was a Trishul, the "weapon of Indra." Major restoration work includes the principal prang, renovated in the Rattanakosin period during King Chulalongkorn’s (Rama V) reign around 1898-99 CE.


West of the gallery enclosing the prang lays a large ubosot (ordination hall), 32 metres long by 14 metres wide. The building was restored in 1956 CE during the government of Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram. The monastic structure is presently in use.


South of the vihara is another smaller vihara with a reclining Buddha. Within the outer wall, there are several chedi rai (small votive chedis) and small monastic structures. The temple has been frequently restored throughout the Ayutthaya period. New constructions include the chedis in rows, some built during the middle Ayutthaya period (1488-1628 CE).





(View of Wat Phutthaisawan with in the front the main vihara)



The statue of King U-Thong


Within the large prang was an image of King Ramathibodi I (King U-Thong) called Phra Thep-bidon (holy deity-father). The image's origin is unknown, but it survived the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 CE. In 1784 CE, in the reign of King Rama I (1782–1809 CE), Prince Thepphonphak went to Ayutthaya to restore the elephant kraal and found the figure (8). He reported this to the King, who decided to move the image to Bangkok. Later, the figure was re-casted as a Buddha image, gilded with silver and moved to the Phra Nak Hall. King Rama IV (1851-1868 CE) placed the image at the Prasat Phra Thep Bidon (the Royal Pantheon - The Shrine of the Celestial Ancestors) in Wat Phra Kaeo in Bangkok. The standing decorated Buddha located in the side recess of the central prang is a new casting. Local people believe that the spirit of Ramathibodi I still resides here.





(The new casting of the image of Phra Jao U Thong)



Outside the boundary wall


The monastic quarters are situated west of the old site. In situ is a two-storey building called the Tamnak Phra Phutthakosajarn (the residential building of Somdet Phra Phutthakosajarn), which served as a model for Jim Thompson's silk shop in Bangkok. It was constructed together with its mural paintings in the late Ayutthaya period (1628-1767 CE) and is said to date from the reign of King Phetracha (1688-1703 CE). The base of the building, curved like the hull of a Chinese junk, is classic for this period. The interior of the hall is highlighted with murals depicting the ten Jatakas (reincarnations of the Buddha - The Pali canonical book of Theravada Buddhism comprises 547 poems concerning the previous births of the Buddha) on the western wall the Somdet Phra Phutthakosajarn's pilgrimage to the Footprint of Lord Buddha in Ceylon on the eastern wall the Traiphumi (Three Worlds) on the northern wall and the scene of the defeat of Mara was on the southern wall. At present, most of these paintings are faded.





(View of the Tamnak Phra Phutthakosajarn)



Miscellaneous


Major restorations of Wat Phutthaisawan took place in 1898 and 1956 CE. Today's monument assumed its present form in its last major restoration in 1898 CE.


In 1954 CE, golden artifacts were found inside the crypt of the main stupa from Wat Phutthaisawan. Most artifacts were golden embossed plaques and small Buddha images. [10]


The 'Description of Ayutthaya', a document probably compiled early in the Bangkok era from the memories of people who had lived in Ayutthaya before 1767 CE, mentioned that behind Wat Phutthaisawan was Oilpress Village where the people extracted sesame oil and Java olive oil (Sterculia foetida) for sale. [11]


Engelbert Kaempfer (1651-1716 CE), a medical doctor working for the Dutch VOC (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) who surveyed the city of Ayutthaya in June 1690 CE, has Wat Phutthaisawan on his drafted map depicted east of Khu Cham, which is wrong. The monastery is not mentioned on his sketch map, which leads to the conclusion that the site was later added and its position was misremembered. [12]


Wat Phutthaisawan is in geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 22.9" N, 100° 33' 30.9" E.





(The vihara of the reclining Buddha)



Description of Wat Phutthai Sawan by one of the Lankan Ambassadors to Ayutthaya in 1751 CE.

“Seven days later on Friday, being full moon, two officers came and informed us that the king had given orders for us to go and worship at two viharas on this day. We accordingly proceeded our boats and worshipped at the vihare called Vat Puthi Suwan. The following is a description of the place. On the right of the great river there stretches a plain right up to the river bank here are built long ranges of two storied halls in the form of a square, with four gateways on the four sides on the four walls were placed two hundred gilt images. Within the eastern gate is fashioned a likeness of the sacred footprint, with the auspicious symbol worked in gold. Right in the centre is a great gilt dagaba with four gates. On entering by the eastern gate there is found a flight of stone steps gilt right in the womb of the dagaba are enshrined the holy relics and it was so built that it was possible to walk round within the dagaba without approaching them. There was also within a gilt reproduction of the Sacred Foot. - On either side of this gate were built two five-headed Naga Rajas apparently descending to the bank of earth. To the north of this was a two-storied building with a throne in the middle of it on this was seated a gilt figure of the Buddha twelve cubits high. To the east of this and facing it was a five-storied building hung with awnings and adorned with paintings and gilding the pillars in the middle were covered with plates of gold, and on a throne in the centre was a life-size image of gold supported on either side by two similar gilt images of the two chief disciples Sariyut Maha Sami and Maha Mugalan Sami and numerous others. Above the gateway from the roof to the lintel there was pictured in gilt work Buddha in the Sakra world, seated on the White Throne and preaching his glorious Abbidharma to the god Mavu Deva and to the gods and Brahmas of unnumbered words and again, when his discourse was ended, he is depicted as descending by the golden stairs to Sakaspura. The vihare itself is strongly guarded by walls and gates round about are built pleasant halls and priests' houses filled with the holy men, with worshippers of high rank and devotees of either sex.” [9]





(The gallery around the main prang)



Footnotes:


(1) The name of the temple is presently written as พุทไธศวรรย์ of which พุทไธ and ศวรรย์, I could not find a translation or meaning. I presume that the word should be written as พุทธ (Buddha) and ไอศวรรย์ (kingship) - พุทธไอศวรรย์ or Buddhist Kingship. Richard Cushman, in the Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya, translated Wat Phutthaisawan as ‘Monastery of the Sovereignty of the Buddha.’ มไหศวรรย์ (Mahai Sawan) meaning supremacy, great wealth, great power, great might, greatness or sovereignty.

(2) Ban Samphao Lom was situated near the Chao Phraya River in the Samphao Lom Sub-district. The village is on the Monthon Krung Kao map (1916 CE). John Bowring (1857, London, John W. Parker and Son, West Strand), in his book ‘The Kingdom and People of Siam,’ wrote: "Between the modern and the ancient capital, Bangkok and Ayuthia, is a village called the “Sunken Ship,” the houses being erected round a mast which towers above the surface at low water."

(3) Not many people realise the Chao Phraya River was not running on the west side of the city island in the Ayutthaya period. At that time, it was the Lopburi River that flowed around Ayutthaya. Today's Chao Phraya River ran through the Bang Ban Canal to Si Kuk and from there to Bang Sai (historical site: Chedi Wat Sanam Chai), where the Lopburi River joined the Chao Phraya River. At the time, the Chao Phraya River was situated about ten kilometres west of the centre of Ayutthaya. The city was linked to the ancient Chao Phraya River in the northwest of Ayutthaya via the Khlong Maha Phram and in the southwest via the Khlong Nam Ya. Steve Van Beeck (1994), in 'The Chao Phya: River in Transition" (Oxford University Press - New York.), writes that "It was not until 1857 that an alternative path was created [for the Chao Phraya River]. A 5-kilometre channel was dug from the entrance of Wat Chulamani to Ban Mai. The river responded by following this new course and abandoning the old one, in effect making a secondary river of the stretch that ran from Ban Mai, and into the Chao Phya Noi. Half as wide as the river above and below it, the 1857 Ban Mai shunt funnels the Chao Phya down to Ayutthaya."

(4) Khlong Takhian is a still existing canal south of Ayutthaya's city island, running mainly through Pak Kran and Khlong Takhian sub-districts. The canal is named after the Malabar Ironwood, a tree often used for making boats and ship masts. The canal originates at the Chao Phraya River near the St Joseph Church in the former Cochin Chinese Settlement. It has its mouth further south, back in the Chao Phraya River, below the former Portuguese settlement, and opposite the northern tip of Rian Island (Ko Rian). The canal was a man-made shortcut or 'Khlong lat' between two stretches of the old Lopburi River at a time the waterway was surrounding Ayutthaya, used by boats to avoid the heavy current of the river and the turbulent waters near the Bang Kraja confluence. Takhian originates from the former village called Ban Tha Khia near the mouth of the canal.

(5) Khlong Chakrai Yai is part of a waterway running through the west of Ayutthaya from north to south. The canal was the extension of Khlong Pak Tho and ran from the Lam Hoei Bridge to the Chakrai Yai Gate opposite Wat Phutthaisawan. The canal was a shortcut through the oxbow of the Lopburi River and connected the old Lopburi River, presently Khlong Mueang, in the north with - what is today - the Chao Phraya River in the south. Ban Chakrai was a village on the city island but outside the city walls.

(6) Khu Cham, or the Cham Ditch, is an existent canal situated off the city island in the southern area of Ayutthaya, running through the Samphao Lom and Khlong Takhian sub-districts. The canal splits off from the present Chao Phraya River about 500 metres east of Wat Phutthaisawan and runs south to join Khlong Takhian, nearly at the latter’s confluence with the Chao Phraya River.

(7) The Luang Prasoet Chronicle of Ayudhya (Phraratchaphongsawadan Krung Si Ayudhya chabap Luang Prasoet) is the oldest chronicle in the Thai language discovered until today. The chronicle was written in 1680 CE by order of King Narai. The chronicle deals with the events in Ayutthaya between 1324 and 1604 CE in a very abridged way. The text was discovered in Phetchaburi by Luang Prasoet in 1907 CE and came to bear his name. With the probable exception of this chronicle, all other versions of the Chronicles of Ayutthaya were written in the Bangkok period after the fall of Ayutthaya. “May it be of good omen! In 1042, a year of the monkey, on Wednesday, the twelfth day of the waxing moon of the fifth month, the King [Narai] was pleased to order, “Get out the chronicles of events recorded by the royal astrologers of earlier times and the chronicles of events to be found in the Hall of the Archives cull out the events to be found in these royal chronicles and collate them together in one place in chronological order up to the present.”

(8) There is a mystery around the finding of this image. Amatyakul sets the discovery in the reign of Rama I. An information board on the site of Wat Phutthaisawan gives 1784 CE as the year of the discovery, and both sources refer to Krom Luang Thepphonphak as the one who made the discovery. The problem here is that this Prince was only born in 1785 CE and became director of the Royal Elephant Department in the reign of Rama II (1809-1824 CE), as thus after the death of Rama I. (Ref: Tri Amatyakul (1957). Guide to Ayudhya and Bang-Pa-In. pp. 60-1). Chris Baker in “The Grand Palace in the Description of Ayutthaya,” writes that the image was placed by King Taksin (reign 1767-1782 CE) in Wat Suwannaram at Thon Buri. King Rama, I decided to revive the water oath ceremony and brought the image to Bangkok to preside at the ceremony and built Phra Thep-bidon Hall inside the palace for the purpose. (Baker, Chris (2013). The Grand Palace in the Description of Ayutthaya: Translation and Commentary. Journal of the Siam Society, Vol 101).





(Buddha images in the ordination hall)



References:

[1] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 11.
[2] Krairiksh, Piriya (1992). A Revised Dating of Ayudhya Architecture (II). Journal of the Siam Society. Vol 80.2.
[3] Baker, Chris Pombejra, Dhiravat na Van Der Kraan Alfons & Wyatt, David K. (2005). Van Vliet's Siam. Silkworm Books.
[4] Gervaise, Nicolas (Paris - 1688) - The Natural and Political History of the Kingdom of Siam - Translated and edited by John Villiers (1998) - White Lotus Press, Bangkok. p. 139.
[5] Map drawn by Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703 - 1772) and published as plate no. 4 in volume IX of the 1752 French edition of Abbé Provost's L'Histoire Générale des Voyages.
[6] Cushman, Richard D. & Wyatt, David K. (2006). The Royal Chronicles of Ayutthaya. Bangkok: The Siam Society. p. 369.
[7] Pieris, P.E. (1908). Religious Intercourse Between Ceylon and Siam in the Eighteenth Century. Bangkok Siam Observer Office. pp. 17-8.
[8] Krom Silpakorn, Phrarathawang lae wat boran nai Changwat Phranakhon Si Ayudhya (Bangkok: Krom Silpakorn, B.E. 2511). p. 41.
[9] Pieris, P.E. (1908). Religious Intercourse Between Ceylon and Siam in the Eighteenth Century. Bangkok Siam Observer Office. pp. 17-8.
[10] Information gathered during the exhibition "Ayutthaya Gold: World Heritage, National Heritage" at the Chao Sam Phraya Museum on 5 November 2016.
[11] Baker, Chris (2011). 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.
[12] E-mail conversation with Chris Baker.





(Chedis at Wat Phutthaisawan)



The Ground Plan of Wat Phutthaisawan


Reference: Krom Sinlapakorn (1968), Phra Rachawang lae Wat Boran nai Jangwat Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya (Fine Arts Department).





No 1: The Tha Nam Pavilion. From the pavilion, a brick road leads to the northern gate, which has only one door.


No 2: A brick wall that surrounds the Phutthawat area. The front, west and south walls are still in reasonably good condition. The eastern wall is very dilapidated. The area inside this wall is 92 metres wide and 192 metres long.


No 3: Two small temples located on the northeastern side of the temple area. Inside, there is a Buddha image. The Buddha image is in a very dilapidated condition. The first temple is 8 metres wide and 16 metres long, with an entrance door on the east side. The second temple is 8 metres wide and 10 metres long, with entrance doors on the north and south sides. Buddha images seated in 4 directions are enshrined.


No 4: A group of pagodas, which are lined up along the northern wall of the temple, totalling 5 of them. The central one is two Ayutthaya style abbreviated chedi. On the west side is a round base chedi in Sri Lankan style. The other two on the east side are chedi with an 8-sided base in Sri Lanka style. This group of pagodas is still in good condition and can be clearly seen from the city side. Surrounding the eastern wall are the remains of approximately five pagodas.


No 5: A small temple, approximately 6 metres wide and 12 metres long, with entrance doors on the north and south sides. Inside, there is the principal Buddha image and the ranking Buddha image. It is in the same dilapidated state as the little vihara north of the temple. On the east and west sides of this small temple, there are the remains of two more pagodas.


No 6: The reclining Buddha temple, approximately 9 metres wide and 18 metres long, with an entrance door on the west side. The Buddha image was lying in a dilapidated state.


No 7: An interesting area in this temple is the Phra Prang area, located in the middle of the Buddhawat area. This area is surrounded by an almost square gallery, 54 metres wide and 74 metres long. This gallery still retains its shape and is accessible for walking. There are two entrance doors on the east side and two on the west side. Around the gallery, Buddha images are lined up at regular intervals. These Buddha images were plastered, lacquered, and gilded. Almost all of them are still in perfect condition. The Phra Prang is situated on a beautiful rectangular base. There are two stairs leading up to this base, one on the east side and one on the west side. On the north and south are two mandapas, with stairs leading up on the east side. Inside the mandapa, there is a Buddha image. On the outward side of the base is a ‘mukdet’ (a second small portico projecting from the main one). At the second small portico of the central prang, there is a Buddha image of King U Thong is located. This image of King U Thong was made into a divine statue during the reign of King Rama I when His Royal Highness Prince Muen Thepphonphak, the Commander of the Royal Department, went out to restore at Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. He found it and informed His Majesty King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke. Therefore, the statue was brought down to Bangkok and was made a new casting. It is a Buddha image covered entirely in silver, and it was enshrined at Phra Thep Bidon Hall, Bangkok. The image is called "Phra Chao U Thong" today. It is a new casting in place of the original, made into the shape of a Buddha standing on the porch next to the prang but not located in the original location. This Phonraprang body has the characteristics of Khmer art. Both the Prang and the Mandapa are in good condition. According to evidence, there was a restoration at one time. During the reign of King Chulalongkorn, the people of Ayutthaya raised money for repairs in 1898. The beauty of this prang was a great tribute to the temple and had artistic value. From the city side, you can easily see the Prang.

No 8: The royal temple is connected to the pavilion surrounding the prang on the east side, 16 metres wide and 48 metres long. There are two doors on the east side and two doors connected to the prang. Inside, there is a principal Buddha image and many more images. It is in a rather dilapidated condition.

No 9: The Ubosot is on the west side of the prang, length 32 metres, width x metres there are two entrance doors on the east side, one on the south and one on the north, one on each side. Inside, there is a Buddha image. This chapel has been repaired and repainted. When the Kathina ceremony was held at this temple in 1956, no deterioration was left to be seen. Surrounding the temple area is a small temple and many more pagodas, but they are all damaged. A group of large and small pagodas is also in the area north of the temple. It is the same principle that is still adhered to today, that it was built to hold the relics of important people—Sala Road (No. 1) besides leading to the Phra Prang area. The temple also leads to another important place worth seeing. This place is located outside the Phutthawat area.

No 10: Somdej Phra Phutthakosajarn Palace This temple has Somdej Phra Phuttha Kosachan. He is a senior monk who resides there and shows the importance of this temple. During the Ayutthaya period, Ayutthaya was a capital. This palace was in a rather dilapidated condition, but it was still enough to be a residence for the monks and abbots. Things that should be studied in terms of art at this palace are the paintings by artisans from the Ayutthaya period which are around. The internal walls of this palace Most of the paintings are in a messy condition. Apart from the time that has destroyed this art, I don't regret it. Rainwater from the damaged roof also helped make the picture even more blurry. There is one image that is still clearly visible. The officials of the Fine Arts Department went to take a photo of a replica and keep it, which is a picture of Somdej Phra Buddhakosajarn paying homage to the Buddha's footprint at Lankataweep.

No 11: Next to the Somdet Palace are the bell tower and the monks' quarters, and there is a pavilion and pier for the monks.

No 12: The pavilion, which has not yet been successfully reconstructed.



Selected PICTURES



Pictures taken June 2002 CE



Pictures taken October 2023 CE



Pictures of the mural paintings taken October 2023 CE



MAPS



Map 1 - Detail of Kaempfer's sketch 1690 CE. Werke 4. Kritische Ausgabe in Einzelbänden. Herausgegeben von Detlef Haberland, Wolfgang Michel, Elisabeth Gössmann. Engelbert Kaempfer in Siam. Iudicum Verlag GmbH München 2003.
Map 2 - Detail of a 19th-century map. Courtesy of the Sam Chao Phraya Museum. Remark: the map is orientated south.
Map 3 - Detail of Phraya Boran Ratchathanin's map 1926 CE. Wat Suwandararam, Ayutthaya.



Map 4 - Detail of a 1993 CE Fine Arts Department map. Courtesy Khun Supot Prommanot, Director of the 3rd Regional Office of Fine Arts.
Map 5 - Detail of a 2007 CE Fine Arts Department GIS map. Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department 3rd Region.
Map 6 - Google Earth.



When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



© 2009-2024
All rights reserved