Wat Mahathat
The construction of Wat Mahathat was begun during the
reign of King Borommarachathirat 1 in 1374 A.D. but it was completed
during the reign of King Ramesuan (1388-1396 A.D.). When King Songtham
(1680-1628 A.D.) was in power the main prang (Khmer- style tower)
collapsed. The restoration work on the prang was probably completed
in the reign of King Prasartthong (1630- 1655 A.D.). During the restoration
the height of the prang was considerably increased.
Wat Mahathat was restored once again during the reign of King Borommakot
(1732-1758 A.D.) when four porticos of the main prang were added.
In 1767 A.D. when Ayutthaya was sacked the wat was burnt and has
since then been in ruins.
Wat Mahathat was a royal monastery and has been the seat of the
Sangaraja, the head of the Buddhist monks of the Kamavasi sect,
since the time of the Mahathera Thammakanlayan, who was a contemporary
of King Borommarachathirat 1, who built the wat.
During the reign of King Rama VI in the Rattanakosin period, about
1911 A.D., the main prang of the wat collapsed again and looters
seized the opportunity to dig for treasure. Only in 1956 A.D. did
the Fine Arts Department undertake excavations around the central
area of the prang where the relics must have been kept. The relics
of the Buddha were found in the stupa within a seven layer reliquary.
Other antiquities were recovered as well, including Buddha images,
votive tables, covered boxes shaped like fish and golden plaques
in the form of animals. All these objects are now at the Chao Sam
Phraya National Museum.
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