Ayutthaya Historical Park

Ayutthaya Historical Park (Thai: อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์พระนครศรีอยุธยา (Pronunciation)) covers the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. The city of Ayutthaya was founded by King Ramathibodi I in 1351.[a] However, the establishment of Ayutthaya is far older than what we thought. Evidence shown that the area was already populated during Mon Dvaravati period. Sources further mentioned that around 850 AD, the Khmers occupied the area and established a stronghold there, named it as Ayodhya after one of the holiest Hindu cities of India of the same name. Early history of Ayutthaya is historically connected to this Khmer settlement.[1][2] Consistently, Prince Damrong also agreed that there was a city called Ayodhya which was found by the Khmers ruling from Lopburi at the point where the three rivers meet.[3] Excavation map shows the traces from an ancient baray (water reservoir) close to the southwestern tip of Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon which could has been built on a former important Khmer temple complex.[4]

Historic City of Ayutthaya
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Plan of Ayutthaya historical park
LocationAyutthaya, Thailand
CriteriaCultural: iii
Reference576
Inscription1991 (15th session)
Area289 ha
Coordinates14°20′52″N 100°33′38″E
Location of Ayutthaya Historical Park in Thailand

The city was then captured by the Burmese in 1569. Though not pillaged, it lost "many valuable and artistic objects."[5]:42–43 It was the capital of the country until its destruction by the Burmese Army in 1767.[6]

In 1969 the Fine Arts Department began renovations of the ruins, which became more serious after it was declared a historical park in 1976. A part of the park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.[7]

Park sites

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 1991, part of Ayutthaya Historical Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site under criteria III as an excellent witness to the period of development of a true national Thai art. The inscribed area covered only 289 ha of the central and southwestern parts of Ayutthaya Island; as a result, only certain groups of historical sites are under UNESCO protection. The sites including Wat Ratchaburana, Wat Mahathat, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Wat Phra Ram, and Wiharn Phra Mongkhon Bopit. The sites that are not part of World Heritage sites are the sites beyond Ayutthaya Island, for example, Wat Yai Chai Mongkon, Wat Phanan Choeng, Wat Chaiwatthanaram, and Wat Phu Khao Thong.

  • Wat Phra Sri Sanphet
  • Wat Mahathat
  • Wat Ratchaburana
  • Wat Yanasen
  • Wat Phra Ram
  • Wat Thammikarat
  • Wat Phra Sri Sanphet
  • The head of Buddha, Wat Mahathat
  • Headless statues
  • Ayutthaya Historical Park
  • The head of Buddha, Wat Mahathat

See also

Notes

a The city was founded on Friday, the 6th day of the waxing moon of the 5th month, 1893 Buddhist Era, corresponding to Friday, 4 March 1351 Common Era, according to the calculation of the Fine Arts Department of Thailand.[8]

References
  1. "History of Ayutthaya - Temples & Ruins - Wat Ayodhya". www.ayutthaya-history.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  2. "History of Ayutthaya - Temples & Ruins - Wat Thammikarat". www.ayutthaya-history.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  3. Kasetsiri, Charnvit (July 1979). "The Rise of Ayudhya: A History of Siam in the Fourteenth to Fifteenth Centuries" (PDF): 31. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "History of Ayutthaya - Temples & Ruins - Wat Yai Chai Mongkhon". www.ayutthaya-history.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  5. Chakrabongse, C., 1960, Lords of Life, London: Alvin Redman Limited
  6. "Historic City of Ayutthaya - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  7. "Ayutthaya, Thailand". KhaoSanRoad.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2013. Retrieved 25 August 2012.
  8. Rotchanaratha, Wina, ed. (1999). Prachum Phongsawadan Chabap Kanchanaphisek Lem Nueng ประชุมพงศาวดาร ฉบับกาญจนาภิเษก เล่ม ๑ [Golden Jubilee Collection of Historical Archives, Volume 1] (in Thai). Bangkok: Fine Arts Department of Thailand. p. 211. ISBN 9744192151.


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