Wat Sa Si

Terrain

General condition

The archaeological site of Wat Sa Si is located in Sukhothai City. in the middle of the hustle A large sanctuary located almost in the center of the city. within the Sukhothai Historical Park away from the door of the royal court north city gate Come to the south about 400 meters away from the Or gate. west city gate Come east about 450 meters west of Wat Tra Kuan. North of Wat Chana Songkhram and northwest of Wat Mahathat

Sukhothai is located on the plains of the river (Terrace) in the eastern foothills of the Pratak Mountains. The sediment deposited thus consists of soil, gravel, sand that is carried by the water from the mountains.

From the foothills, the area has a slope to the east to the Yom River, which is approximately 11 kilometers east of the ancient city. Klong Sao Ho which is a straight stream on the south side and Mae Lamphan Canal on the north and east side of the city and flows into the Yom River at the present Sukhothai Province.

The area between the ancient city of Sukhothai and the Yom River is a marsh. There are frequent floods and some places have been trapped in water for months. Therefore, it may be one of the reasons why Sukhothai Old City is not located on the riverbank plain.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Khlong Sao Hor, Khlong Yang, Yom River

Geological conditions

Sukhothai is located on the plains of the river (Terrace) in the eastern foothills of the Pratak Mountains. which is a sedimentary mountain range in the Permian and Triassic periods consisted of many horns The sediment deposited thus consists of soil, gravel, sand that has been carried by water from the mountains. The soil is the Mae Taeng soil series (Mae Taeng series:Mt).

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

The archaeological site of Wat Sa Si is located in Sukhothai City. in the middle of the hustle The largest pond located almost in the center of the city. away from the door of the royal court north city gate Come to the south about 400 meters away from the Or gate. west city gate Come east about 450 meters west of Wat Tra Kuan. North of Wat Chana Songkhram and northwest of Wat Mahathat

Important things of the temple include the main chedi, viharn, chedi and the temple in the water. Before 1978, Jarodwithi Thong Road cuts through the middle of the temple. The Fine Arts Department has improved the scenery to preserve the ancient sites by digging and demolishing the roads. Then build a road along the pond instead (Special Chia Chanphong 2003 :16)

The main chedi is a round bell-shaped or Lankan-shaped chedi with a balcony surrounding it. It is believed that there used to be a row of Buddha images enshrined (Santi Lek Sukhum 2008 :45). This chedi is a historical evidence showing the adoption of Buddhism from Lanka of Sukhothai (Special Chea Chanphong 2003 :16).

The viharn is in front or east of the main chedi. The end of the viharn passes through a winding balcony in the area of ​​the main chedi. It is a pattern commonly found in important temples of the Sukhothai period (Santi Lek Sukhum 2008 :45).

The Acropolis chedi is located to the south of the main chedi. It is a pagoda with five peaks. is the top president and the top four others which adorns the ridge of the chedi's square roof (Santi Lek Sukhum 2008 :45). that appears at the base, but cannot determine the exact morphology It is enshrined in the west of 1 main chedi, west of the 3 family chedi.

The chapel is located on an island in the middle of the water. separate from other structures It is a Buddhist belief that uses water in the sense of purity of the boundary that is set aside for monks to perform sangha, called Natesima (Special Chia Chanphong 2003 :16), which is one of Lanka's mottos. The appearance of the building should be a hall building (Santi Lek Sukhum 2008 :45)

In 1964, Mrs. Lin Preechachat presented “The 94th Main Stone Inscription, Golden Lan Inscription” to His Majesty the King. It is an inscription that is likely to be found from the illegal excavation of the pagoda. causing the giver to identify only that it was found in the area of ​​Sa Si tank from excavation of a road between Wat Mahathat and Wat Sa Si (Sakchai Saising 2004 :69)

The inscription indicating the year it was built is 1927. The essence of this main inscription is “...Phra Maha Patriarch of the Great Thammaracha Let the rock be made into a pagoda on 4 sides of the relics of Maha Thammaracha, with a width of 14 wa, 2 cubits, and a height of 17 waka arms..."

Prof. Dr. Prasert Na Nakorn (2002:14-15) assumed that this main inscription was probably from Chedi Rai. (The chedi of the direction) Wat Mahathat Sukhothai By calculating from the size of the pagoda, width 14 wa 2 cubits is 26.97 meters, height 17 wa, the arm value is 32.55 meters, which the main chedi has a base (Phaiti) 27 meters wide and the main chedi is 29 meters high. Another approximately 2 meters, it will be about 31 meters, close to what is mentioned in the inscription. Therefore, the main chedi at Wat Mahathat Sukhothai should have been built in the reign of Phaya Lithai and the Chedi Rai built by the Great Patriarch of Phaya Lithai in 1927 (Sakchai Saising 2004 :69).

However, Prof. Dr. Santi Leksukhum (2001 :49) has previously suggested that the main chedi and chedi Rai (Corner and direction), these 8 bodies should be built at the same time. by using evidence in the form of fine arts as the main study It is believed that the lowest base of the entire chedi was reconstructed with a base of Phaithi surrounded by the Lila monks. It is also believed that the original main chedi was covered with a lotus-bud shaped chedi that may have existed before the Phaya Lithai period (Sakchai Saising 2004 :70).

In addition, important evidence from the Chedi Wat Sa Si on display in the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum is a replica of the stupa containing the Buddha's relics. Inside the pagoda there is a conical object. believed to be the cover of the Buddha's relics and believed that the Golden Lan inscription that Mrs. Lin Preechachat brought up to the King Dedicated to His Majesty the King That said, it came from the area near Wat Sa Si. Originally, it may be included in this as well (Sakchai Saising 2004 :70)