Assumption Cathedral

Terrain

General condition

Assumption Cathedral or Assumption Church Located on the Chao Phraya River It is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Mass in Bangkok. It is still being used for religious activities continually. In the surrounding area of ​​Bei, the location of 3 schools is Assumption School. Assumption Convent School and Assumption Suksa School

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Chao Phraya River

Geological conditions

Holocene sediments

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Assumption Cathedral or Assumption Church As the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Mass of Bangkok, the Assumption Cathedral was first built in 1809 in the style of a Thai-style building by Pastor Pascal. who was a Thai-Portuguese and was later established as a cathedral before the construction of a new church (After the present) in the year 1909 by Father Emile August Gombet, Bishop of the French Church at that time. to support the expansion of Christianity that has increased The French architect designed and supervised the construction. with building materials such as marble and stained glass. which ordered from France Singapore and Italy (https://www.assumption-cathedral.com/) The church was damaged during World War II before subsequent renovations.

Assumption Cathedral was the residence of the bishops who were the heads of Miss Siam in the past. It is also the center of the Christian community located nearby in Bang Rak area. It is one of the oldest cathedrals in Thailand and is regarded as one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Thailand. Two Popes have visited the Assumption Cathedral, Pope John Paul II in 1984 and Pope Francis in 2019. P>

Artistic characteristics
This Assumption Church is located along the Chao Phraya River, facing the altar to the river. The church has a rectangular plan. The building is an imitation of Romanesque architecture. The front has a gable roof. There is a large round window with flower petals (Rose Window) flanked on both sides by a square tower. The side walls have columns that imitate the Buttress columns. The back is a curved wall with a half-conical roof. Inside, the area is divided into 3 parts:an open terrace in front. big assembly hall There is a veranda on the side. and the inner sanctuary that houses a large marble altar There is a window in the back to let the light in. The windows are decorated with stained glass with the image of the saint. The ceiling is vaulted in a square pattern with gold stars. The pillars are ionic and Corinthian mixed. The interior is decorated with frescoes and stucco sculptures. The entrance hall has a mezzanine for large choirs and organs.

In 2004, the Roman Catholic Mission carried out a project to strengthen the security. and improve the condition of the Assumption Cathedral building due to the survey report on the collapse of the building It was found that the buildings continued to collapse during the first phase (1998 - 2000), with an average subsidence of -2.02 centimeters per year, during the second phase (2001 - 2004) with a subsidence of -1.0. to -4.5 centimeters during the 3rd stage (early 2004) has subsided approximately -3.3 cm Therefore, the Roman Catholic Mission has entrusted the World Heritage Company Limited to renovate the building, which requires a foundation study to be used as a guideline for further strengthening and rebuilding the building.

Important archaeological evidence

1. The foundations of the columns in the tomb under the altar Construction is expected between 1909 - 1918.
Construction site and foundation preparation were found as follows:

Preparing floor for construction area There are 2 floors in total:the lowest floor is the foundation layer of cement to prepare the construction area, 1 layer is the next floor. About 23 centimeters thick should be poured throughout the room. to receive the poles and the NRPC building

Construction floor of the pillars supporting the altar It is a brick bunker and a pole. about 32 centimeters wide. The depth is unknown. Understand that this pillar is buried deeper than the pre-construction floor. The base of the column was covered with a square brick.
width 96 cm., height 50 cm., later filled the surrounding area. Subsequently, with coarse sand mixed with limestone fragments, filling about 45 cm thick

Prepare floor to pour the area to support the floor used Filled and compacted the sand around the gland until it was tight. and pouring cement mixed with bricks, always at the pier around the area.

A working floor class has 3 floors The first floor is a cement floor, 5 cm thick, polished, polished to a grid pattern. The second floor has been raised to a height of 23 cm, the surface on the sand plaster is 5 cm thick, the surface is polished with a grid pattern.
The third floor is plastered with 6 cm of raised mortar. The polished floor has no pattern and is covered with plastic sheets and plates. Carpet understands that this floor is underground and is constantly subject to humidity, resulting in multiple lifting operations.

2. Foundation of the building outside The area is prepared as follows:

Dig deep soil into a basin to level the ground before pouring the mortar (Lean) 10 cm thick (190 cm deep from the current floor) to support the beams that are poured in all 6 floors and have a total height of approximately 1.22 meters. Width from the current wall about 44 cm. The wall column found the same beam pouring.

Flooring used on the side of the building found a multi-layered use floor. and found traces of repairing the walls of the building 3 times

When comparing the structure of the column base supporting the floor of the royal altar in the tomb and the foundation outside the building, it was found that The foundation level at both points has a depth, is poured, and the material is similar. As mentioned in the history of the temple, there is no evidence of the use of timber to support the foundations of the temple. But from the excavation of the outer wall only at one point, it is not possible to conclude the structure of the whole building because some points have not been inspected.