Asoke Temple

Terrain

General condition

Wat Asoke is an abandoned archaeological site that has been excavated. restoration and improve the landscape It is located in the western city of Chiang Saen, near Thap Man Gate and Wat Chang Kham. and behind the people's houses therefore not visible from the road. (But there is an entrance sign at the roadside.) Entering the archaeological site requires walking through a privately owned, abandoned area with walls and gates.

It was originally a low rectangular mound. Lived in the people's house after 1986-1987 The Fine Arts Department conducted a survey and made a survey report on the ancient city of Chiang Saen. It states that the mound is probably a temple, about 7x18 meters in size, with scattered brick fragments. And there are signs that there used to be pillars on the hill of the temple.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Mekong River

Geological conditions

Chiang Saen is located on the west bank of the Mekong River. in the Chiang Saen Plain, which is a large plain formed by the deposition of sediments especially sand gravel In the Quaternary Era

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Originally, the area of ​​Asoke Temple was a low rectangular mound. Lived in the people's house after 1986-1987 The Fine Arts Department conducted a survey and made a survey report on the ancient city of Chiang Saen. It states that the mound is probably a temple, about 7x18 meters in size, with scattered brick fragments. And there are signs that there used to be pillars on the hill of the temple.

The ancient monument of Asoke Temple It is a mound about 1.5-2 meters high and consists of 3 mounds. The soil surface is brown loamy soil, covered with weeds and bamboo clumps throughout the area. The area on the west, east and south is adjacent to the houses of the people. The north is adjacent to Wat Chang Kham.

From the excavation of the Fine Arts Department, 4 buildings were found as follows:

Building number 1 The brick base is placed in a longitudinal line in the east-west direction. assumed to be a temple The building plan is rectangular. facing east Reduce the porch in front of the building 1 time by creating a brick border between the hall inside the building and the front porch. The base of the building that was found collapsed. building floor It was found that there was a mortar on the floor of the building. by priming with compacted soil only There was no brick paving the foundation on the cement deck. Three staircases were found leading up to the building, with the main staircase on the east (front) side and smaller stairways on either side near the Chukchi base. The Chukchi base and the base of the building were reconstructed 3 times, with the last time there were stone parapets around the building, so it was assumed that in later times the viharn might have been converted into an ordination hall. /P>

Building number 2 From the excavation found a rectangular brick building base. reduce the front porch (East side) building style and size It is an almost square-shaped building, 15 meters wide in the north-south direction and 17 meters long in the east-west direction. which is rarely found in the ancient city of Chiang Saen It is decorated as a set of baseboards supporting the cornice and the wall that fell in the building. with stairs in front The building was added to the same as Building No. 1 or Viharn, and there was also an original path linking this building with the Viharn. At the end of the building, there is a toilet.

From the detailed study, the components of this building number 2 can be divided into 3 sub-buildings, namely the south building. north building and walkways or balconies surround

Building number 3 It is an elevated walkway connecting the north side of Building No. 1 and the south porch of Building No. 2 (Southern Building) with a width of 3 meters, a length of 9 meters, and a height of about 1-1.5 meters, with the height of the floor on the side. on of Building No. 1 and Building No. 2, the walkway is paved with bricks along the way.

Building number 4 In the area on the west side of Building No. 1 near the concrete wall Found the edge of the brick base, 1 meter wide, 6 meters long, no traces found. to be able to indicate the functionality of the brick building line which from the excavation of the archaeological soil layer No traces of soil layer change were found. It is possible that this area has already been disturbed. Since the construction of concrete walls causing the evidence to appear like this.

Most of the important antiquities found in the ancient site are fragments of pottery. Especially produced from the Lanna furnace, including the Wiang Kalong furnace. (Late 20th Buddhist century to early 22nd Buddhist century), Tao Phan source (late 20th Buddhist century - 21st century) and San Kamphaeng furnace source. (Buddhist in the 19th century to the middle of the 19th Buddhist century to the middle of the 23rd Buddhist century, also found sandstone Buddha images. Phayao City Technician Although the head with a face was not found But the age can be determined during the 20th-22nd Buddhist century.

Archaeological site of Asoke Temple It was probably built during the 19th Buddhist century and continued to be used until Chiang Saen was lost to the Burmese army in the early 22nd Buddhist century and then abandoned during this period. Or maybe soon after?