Archaeological discoveries

Wat Chaeng

Terrain

General Condition

Wat Chaeng is a temple that is still in use. Located in Ubon Ratchathani Province, which is the former city of Ubon Ratchathani. The general condition of the area is a plain along the Mun River. caused by the deposition of convective sediments The temple is currently 1.3 kilometers north of the Mun River.

Height above mean sea level

129 meters

Waterway

Mun River

Geological conditions

Plains along the Mun River formed by sediment deposition during the Quaternary period.

Archaeological Era

historical era

era/culture

Rattanakosin period

Archaeological age

1912

Mythological age

1875 (the year the temple was built)

Types of archaeological sites

religious place

archaeological essence

Wat Chaeng is a Rat temple. Affiliated with Maha Nikaya According to the history of the temple, it was said that it was built in 1875 (some books indicate that it was built in 1888), which was given to Wisung Kham Sima in 1893 by entering the royal son (Noo Dam), one of the four criminal rulers of Ubon Ratchathani. those days In the construction of the Sim Wat Chaeng according to the royal certificate, Kamlo recorded that “After the construction of the principal Buddha image, the Sim was built in around 1912 with the director of the Sim, namely Ya Than Peng, a student of Ya. Lord Hall at Wat Luang.”

Important ancient sites within the temple are the ubosot or the old sim located in the middle of the temple.

The general characteristics of Wat Chaeng Sim is a solid sim, brick and mortar, rectangular layout, 3 rooms, facing east. There is a front porch. There is a stairway leading up to the porch and sim at the front stairway in the middle. which is the only way up The railing is decorated in the shape of a crocodile. which is a popular style of Laotian art. There are 4 front pillars to support the weight of the roof of the front porch. Between the pillars there is a backrest in the front porch.

The base is a two-tier chopping board base, above it is a cornice, wire, and wood. The bottom of the wood has a plexiglass and a wire flanking the upper and lower parts of the chicken breast. Next up from the wood is a wire, a lotus facing up, a small lotus. Continuing with 3 layers of wire stacked to support the wall of the sim All cornices have a flickering end. Which is a unique identity of Lao art called "beam Khan base", but the swaying base of Sim Wat Chaeng is not as delicate and prickly as in Laos art. Shows locality (Phanthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33)

Both sides of the wall (north and south) have 3 windows on each side. The windows are wooden windows. The frame is decorated with honeycomb carvings and the lower part is a grille pattern. stained glass ornament The back wall is completely solid. The front wall is an entrance, drilled into a door in the middle, one door is a wooden door. No pattern

From the appearance of the window decorated with the front of the lady's frame and the rib cage similar to the Rattanakosin art style (Phanthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33)

The roof is a high gable shape. There is a canopy roof flanking it on both sides. (Wooden tile) At present, it is covered with clay tiles in the form of fish scale tiles. The gable roof style is the style of the Ubosot that is influenced by the central region and the Rattanakosin region.

wind pad or wind shield It looks like a straight wooden plank that extends along the gable roof, known as “Rich” and is decorated with rooster leaves. Making a rich wind key is a popular style of Laotian art. But the popular Lao art is decorated with Wan Laen. not a rooster decoration The decoration of the rooster leaves is a popular form of art in the central region (Panthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33).

gong or bouquet It is a stucco statue of a serpent with wings. The head of the serpent has fins carved. the tip of the curl The tip of the head is made of curly wavy ends. These characteristics show the local characteristics of the Sim Isan (Phanthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33) and are clearly displayed.

Itchy or swan's tail It is a carved figure of a serpent with wings. The head is engraved with fins. the tip of the curl The tip of the head is made with a serrated serrated end. It's a folk trait.

The face or gable is a wood carving pattern. The main gable on the upper part of this sim is an image of Indra on the Erawan elephant. (It is a popular form of the central region), but Indra is broken. flanked by lions The lower part is decorated with 3 suns pattern (a popular style of Lao art), while the two side gable plates are decorated with flora motifs. The gable frame is decorated with leaf patterns.

The cornice at the front porch has 4 square wooden pillars supporting the roof structure, the middle pair being higher than the side pillars. Every pillar is decorated with a lotus head that is carved from lotus petals. Characteristics of the long, high, pointed lotus petals similar to the lotus in Rattanakosin art (Phanthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33)

Hang Phueng or honeycomb or bow eyebrows is a 3-poster form consisting of two wooden panels, which are the top rectangular plank and the part of the honey bee hung. Hung bee in the middle twin columns above decorated with lotus patterns. which is a form of folk art that is simple The lower hung bee is carved in a wooden plank with a pointed end hanging down below. The frame is decorated with leaves and beads pattern. Hang Phueng during the pillar on the side above is divided into 2 floors, the upper floor is decorated with 4 petals floral pattern, the lower floor is decorated with round flower patterns. The part of the honey bee has the same characteristics as the middle pair.

lady arm or wand Decorate the wall, 5 figures on each side are carved wood depicting a winged serpent. curly appearance The head of the serpent is below, facing out, the tail is on the top, swayed out in front, and Kanok is carved. On the body of the serpent is carved with scales along the body. There is a socket below. The creation of a Naga wand is a unique identity of Lao and Isan art (Panthipha Suwannee 2013 :21-33).

The exterior decoration style with serpents such as Ngo (Chor Fa), Khan Dok (Hang Hong), Kan Thuy, and stair railings, etc., are popular styles in Lao art. Because there is a belief that the naga is an animal that protects Buddhism.

Inside the Sim, there is a square base of Chukchi. built on the back wall It looks like 2 lotus bases stacked on top of each other. The wall has no paintings.

On the south (side) and west (back) sides of Sim, a sandstone parapet rises above the ground. where the south side has 1 leaf (middle side) and the west side has 2 leaves. It is assumed that the outer slab is high enough to completely cover up the original parapet. leaving only the tip of the leaf as it appears today


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