| WAT KHON (วัดโขน) |
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| Text & maps by Tricky Vandenberg - July 2009 Updated April 2011, April 2013 |
| (Detail of a 19th century map - map is orientated S-N.) |
| (Detail of Phraya Boran Rachathanin's map - Anno 1926) |
| Wat Khon or the Monastery of the Masked Play is located on Ayutthaya's city island in the southwestern part in Pratu Chai sub-district, northwest of the Somdet Phra Sri Nakharin Park. The site is part of the Ayutthaya Historical Park. The monastery is named after the "Khon", a type of Thai drama; a mask play which repertoire is drawn from the Ramakien (Ramayana). Phraya Boran Rachathanin (PBR) positions Wat Khon on his 1926 map of Ayutthaya east of Wat Cho on the south bank of Khlong Tha Phra (also called as Khlong Klaep). A 2007 Fine Arts Department (FAD) map based on conducted excavations in the area, indicates Wat Khon (but with the name Wat Jon - วัดโจน) in an identical position as PBR does. On a mid-19th century map this location is denominated as Wat Lanthom Yai (วัดลั่นทมใหญ่). (1) This old map indicates Wat Khon south of Wat Cho; even below Wat Maha Saman. Historical data about the monastery and its construction is unknown. The site is located in Geo Coord: +14° 20' 44.48" N, +100° 32' 49.74" E. Why the denomination on the 19thC map being Wat Lanthom Yai has been altered by PBR more than 50 years later into Wat Khon remains a question. On the 1993 Fine Arts Department [FAD] map we find the location mentioned as Wat Jon. The same denomination is repeated on the 2007 FAD GIS map. If not a repeated mistake in writing, the same question can be asked here. Footnotes: (1) ลั่นทม = Frangipani, Nosegay or Pagoda Tree. Scientific name: Plumeria Rubra. Wat Lanthom Yai = the Large Monastery of the Frangipani Tree. |
| (Detail of a 2007 Fine Arts Department GIS map - Courtesy of the Fine Arts Department - 3th Region) |
