| WAT KHOK KHAMIN 4 (วัดโคกขมิ้น) |
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| Wat Khok Khamin or the Monastery of the Mound of the Curcuma Plant (1) was located on the city island in the southwestern area of Ayutthaya in Pratu Chai sub-district. The site is only indicated on a mid-19th century map and does not feature on Phraya Boran Rachathanin's (PBR) map drafted in 1926, which shows only an empty space in that area. Wat Khok Khamin was situated between Wat Sangkha Tha and Wat Khon. There are no traces anymore visible of the monastery above ground level. The author presumes this area was already cleared of temple ruins prior Phraya Boran Rachathanin's arrival in Ayutthaya. Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown. Phraya Boran Rachathanin mentions a temple with the same name, north of Khlong Klaep, along the south side of Talaeng Kaeng Road near the Lam Hoei Bridge. In view of the distance these monasteries must have been different. Wat Khok Khamin must have been approximately situated in Geo Coord: 14° 20' 44.24" N, 100° 32' 59.64" E and I presume in line (N-S) with Wat Hoi Khong. Footnotes: (1) Khamin is the Thai word for curcuma. The latter is a plant, a genus in the ginger plant family Zingiberaceae having its habitat in the warm, humid environments of south and southeast Asia. The most commercially important kind is Curcuma Longa, originating from India, widely cultivated in Asia for its underground stems. The stems are boiled for several hours and then dried in hot ovens, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South Asian cuisine. It is also used for dyeing and to impart color to mustard condiments. The root of turmeric (Curcuma Longa) has long been used in traditional Asian medicine to treat gastrointestinal upset, arthritic pain, and "low energy." |
| Text & map by Tricky Vandenberg - April 2011 Updated July 2014 |
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| (Detail of a 19th century map - map is orientated S-N) |