Si Satchanalai Historical Park

Si Satchanalai Historical Park
Sukhothai Province, Thailand
Part of	Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns
Criteria	Cultural: (i)(iii)
Reference	574-002
Inscription	1991 (15th Session)
Area	4,514 ha (11,150 acres)
Coordinates	17°31′26.2″N 99°47′11.5″E / 17.523944°N 99.786528°E
	Location of Si Satchanalai Historical Park in Thailand

The Si Satchanalai Historical Park (

Sukhothai Province, northern Thailand. The park covers the ruins of Si Satchanalai and Chaliang. Si Satchanalai, which literally means "City of good people", was founded in 1250 as the second center of the Sukhothai Kingdom

and as a residence of the crown prince in the 13th and 14th centuries.

The city was rectangular in shape. In the 16th century, a 5-metre high wall with an upstream moat was built to fend off the growing Burmese attacks. The location of the town was facilitated by two neighboring dominant hills. The park is maintained by the

, Si Satchanalai Historical Park attracts thousands of visitors each year, who marvel at the ancient Buddha figures, palace buildings and ruined temples. The park is easily toured by bicycle or even on foot.

History

Liberation from Khmer

Prior to the 13th century,

Bangklanghao and Pho Khun Pha Mueang decided to rebel and declare independence from Angkor and captured Chaliang. Chaliang then became part of the Sukhothai Kingdom

.

Under Sukhothai

Under the reign of

Luethai wrote one of greatest works in Thai literature, Traibhumikatha or Traiphum Phra Ruang (Thai: ไตรภูมิกถา หรือ ไตรภูมิพระร่วง) in Si Satchanalai.^[1]

^: 221

The stele of Ram Khamhaeng states a stupa was erected in the center of Si Satchanalai, that took six years to build.^[1]^: 197

Lanna invasion and Ayutthaya domination

After the death of Ramkhamhaeng,

Sawankhalok

and the old city was abandoned.

Later development

In 1907

George Coedès, a 20th-century scholar of southeast Asian archaeology and history. As part of this trip Vajiravudh found beautiful relics of Buddha image's head, a hand and feet in Si Satchanalai and brought them back to Bangkok. In 1911 he rebuilt the Buddha image which was finished in 1913. This 7.20 meters high standing Buddha image was named Phra Ruang Rojanarit Sri Indraditya Dhammobhas Mahavajiravudh Pujaneeya Bophitr (Thai: พระร่วงโรจนฤทธิ์ ศรีอินทราทิตย์ธรรโมภาส มหาวชิราวุธปูชนียบพิตร) and installed in the front of Phra Pathommachedi in Nakhon Pathom

.

Sawankhalok in 1958. The protection of the area was first announced in Volume 92, Part 112 of the Royal Gazette on August 2, 1961. In 1976 the restoration project was approved, and in July 1988 the park was officially opened. On December 12, 1991, it was declared a World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns together with the associated historical parks in Kamphaeng Phet and Sukhothai

.

During 2011 Thailand floods, flood water from Yom River entered Si Satchanalai Historical Park inundating two historical pottery kilns.^[2]

Main sights

Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat

Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat or Wat Si Mahathat Chaliang (

Bhumibol and Sirikit

visited the temple, Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahataht was promoted as the first rank Ratchawarawihan or royal temple and put under the patronage of the Thai royal family.

Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo

Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo (

Lanna and Bagan

stupa which has unique square tower base with a spherical top and arched hall façade stucco for standing Buddha image in beautiful Sukhothai style. Inside the temple, there were vihara, ordination hall, five mandapas and a sacred pond. There was also a defensive wall around the temple which was originally surrounded by a moat.

Wat Chang Lom

Wat Chang Lom (

Ramkhamhaeng after the discovery of a Buddha relic on the site. The main structure of the temple is a two-tiered square base round the Sri Lanka-style laterite stupa. The name of the temple come from the statues of 39 standing elephants around the first tier of the stupa base. The elephants are remarkably full sized in front of the wall. Normally only the front half of the body is shown as in Wat Chang Rop and Wat Chang Lom in Sukhothai Historical Park

. Also on the second tier of the stupa base are 20 niches that were originally filled with 1.4 m high Buddha images. Some Buddha images can still be seen today. There is a ruined vihara in front of the stupa as well as other smaller structures in the temple compound. The main sanctuary is surrounded by a thick wall made of laterite stones.

Wat Chom Chuen

Wat Chom Chuen (Thai: วัดชมชื่น) is located near Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat. On the temple ground, there are a vihara, a circular laterite stupa, and a mandapa. The mandapa has laterite gable roofing and 2 niches in the front and another niche at the back. From the archaeological excavations conducted at the depth of 7 – 8 metres in front of vihara, 15 skeletons were found. These human skeletons are believed to date from near the 4th century - Dvaravati period, around the 7th to 11th centuries.

Wat Khok Singkharam

Wat Khok Singkharam (Thai: วัดโคกสิงคาราม) is an ancient temple built during late Sukhothai to early Ayutthaya. The temple is facing east and has rectangular layout. The northern, eastern and western walls of the temple are made from laterite. The southern wall of the temple is the old town wall of Chaliang. There is an early Ayutthayan 6-roomed laterite vihara. Behind the vihara are three Sukhothai stupas on a single pedestal, originally separate but later connected.

Wat Nang Paya

Wat Nang Paya (Thai: วัดนางพญา) means the temple of queen. In Phra Ruang City Journey, Vajiravudh reported that, according to local legend, the temple was built by Pasuja Devi, a daughter of the Emperor of China; however, there is no archaeological evidence to support such a legend. The temple ground is fairly extensive. There is a large laterite stupa and remains of a seven-roomed vihara, in the typical style of Sukhothai and Lanna architecture, in the center of the compound. The temple is famous for the remains of beautiful stucco-reliefs on the wall of the Vihara. The stucco-reliefs are protected under the tin roof shelter.

Thuriang Kilns

The Thuriang Kilns (Thai: เตาทุเรียง) are ruins of the old celadon factory, located about 5 km north of the old town of Si Satchanalai. In an area of about 1.5 square kilometers about 200 kilns have been found. This is a site where Sukhothai celadons were produced since the 13th century, they are probably the oldest kilns in Thailand. The vaulted brick kilns measure 1.5 – 2 metres wide and 4.5 metres long. The ceramic wares found here are generally large bowls and jars; they have a matt yellowish grey glaze and a design, usually of a flower, a fish, or a whirling circle, painted in black in Chinese designs. A group of Thai-Australian archaeologists from University of Adelaide found that the ceramic wares in Si Satchanalai had been produced more than a millennium before the Sukhothai Kingdom contradicting the general view that the Chinese introduced production in the 13th century.

References

^
ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1
.

^ "Culture Min to inspect the ancient sites after floods". Thai Financial Post. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.

Gallery

Wat Chang Lom
Wat Chang Lom
Wat Chang Lom
Wat Chang Lom
Wat Nang Paya
Wat Nang Paya
Wat Nang Paya
Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo
Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo
Wat Chedi Chet Thaeo
Town Wall
Town Wall
Historical Park Entrance
UNESCO World Heritage Site

External links

Si Satchanalai Historical Park - official website
Si Satchanalai Information and History (Thai: translation ready)

[Coedes-1] 
ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1
.

[2] "Culture Min to inspect the ancient sites after floods". Thai Financial Post. 15 August 2011. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.

[1]

[2]

v t e World Heritage Sites in Thailand
Cultural	Ban Chiang Archaeological Site Historic City of Ayutthaya Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns Sukhothai Kamphaeng Phet Si Satchanalai The Ancient Town of Si Thep and its Associated Dvaravati Monuments	Flag of Thailand
Natural	Dong Phayayen–Khao Yai Forest Complex Khao Yai Thap Lan Pang Sida Ta Phraya Dong Yai Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex Kaeng Krachan Kui Buri Chaloem Phrakiat Thai Prachan Mae Nam Phachi Thungyai–Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuaries Thung Yai Naresuan Huai Kha Khaeng	Flag of Thailand