Wat Tham Phra Phuttha

Terrain

General Condition

The site of Wat Tham Phra Phut is in the highlands between the mountains. which is a mountain range of limestone soil and limestone mountains that surround the temple (The mountain range is in the Nakhon Si Thammarat mountain range), which is the location of the Phra Phuttha Cave archaeological site. At present, Wat Tham Phra Phut is the caretaker and development of the Buddha Cave. including various antiquities found within the temple.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Khlong Nam Lod, Trang River

Geological conditions

The site of Wat Tham Phra Phut is in the highlands between the mountains, the sediment that has been deposited is sedimentary rubble at the foothills. from the clay limestone mountains and limestone hills surrounding the temple and is the location of the Phra Phuttha Cave archaeological site (Department of Mineral Resources 2007)

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Wat Tham Phra Phuttha It is now a Rat temple. Maha Nikaya was built around 1831. It was built by Father Than Chang Luang because on the mountain in front of the cave there is already a large reclining Buddha image. Therefore, it was named “Wat Tham Phra Phuttha” and was granted Wisung Kham Sima in 1922 (National Buddhism Office 2022; Panuwat Ueasamarn et al. 2018:124)

Inside Wat Tham Phra Phut, many ancient objects were found in the past, such as jade Buddha images, cups, bowls, bowls, gongs, as well as brass utensils and porcelain tiles. including a kiln used to forge vessels and 8 Buddha images, which these antiques are stored in the chapel These items are probably related to the city of Nakhon Si Thammarat. except for a small brass bowl which is said As an offering to the temple, when there is a funeral, there is one funeral, one bowl is offered. Some Buddha images in the church were moved from Tanote Cave from another mountain, which is not far from each other. (Department of Fine Arts 2022; Trang Provincial Cultural Office 2022)

Important ancient objects of the temple including stucco Buddha images around the cliff Southern vernacular art with a reclining Buddha image as the president and a Buddha image in the attitude of subduing Mara. Standing in the uniform of Manora, 25 monks, all made of bricks and mortar and clay mixed with honey (brown) in the ancient style (Phanuwat Euasamarn et al. 2018:124)

The reclining Buddha image is enshrined in the central area of ​​the penthouse on the right side. His left hand stretches along the body, the right hand rests on the top of the head in front of his face. His left foot overlaps His Majesty the King with a height of 3 meters and a length of 14.36 meters, enshrined on a large pedestal that is close to the cliff. There are 11 arches decorated with stucco designs. It is a wave-shaped arch and has a pottery amulet decorated in the arch. As for the pedigree in the shape of circles stacked on top of each other, traces of restoration have been found using stucco additions, decorations, and paintings in different shapes. with pearl embellishments and leaded glass of different colors The reclining Buddha image is indigenous to the south. oval face The nalat widened, the giraffe descended, and it was me. Phra Khanong amulet is bent to each other in the shape of a halo-shaped crown of flame above the pattern of overlapping lotus petals. There is a cone-shaped mites with small black spikes. His lowly glanced eyes were decorated with mother-of-pearl shells. His body was lacquered with gold. Possessing a smooth robe wrapped obliquely in reddish-brown color decorated with a large sheet of golden pattern in the center of the Buddha's body. The monk cut a long straight down to the Nabhi, his four fingers were evenly lengthened, the tip was slightly thickened. His fingernails and feet are decorated with large pearl shells. Currently, the Buddha image has been preserved and strengthened. Newly lacquered and gilded in 2016 by the Fine Arts Department According to the original evidence (Phanuwat Ueasamarn et al. 2018:124)