WAT CHANG THONG

Wat Chang Thong, or the Monastery of the Golden Elephant, was located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya, in the Phukhao Thong Sub-district.

The monastery featured on a 1993 CE Fine Arts Department map only and stood north of Wat Chong Lom along the eastern canal bank of the waterway leading to the old Chao Phraya River. (1)

Wat Chang Thong was located opposite Wat Pom Yai and Wat Pom Noi (on the other river bank) and south of Wat Phukhao Thong. The temple was squeezed between the defensive canal Khlong Maha Nak (2) and the Chao Phraya River.

There are no traces of the monastery remaining in situ. Urbanization took its toll as many new houses have been constructed in the area. Villagers used to call it Wat Tha Thong or the Monastery of the Golden Landing (วัดท่าทอง).

Its historical background and period of construction are unknown.

The monastery was in geographical coordinates: 14° 21' 49.03" N, 100° 32' 18.65" E.

Footnotes:

(1) The old river bed of the Chao Phraya River in the Bang Ban Sub-district is today the Bang Ban Canal. The old Chao Phraya River could be reached from Hua Laem at the northwestern point of Ayutthaya via a stretch of the defunct Bang Kaeo River and Khlong Maha Phram. The Chao Phraya River was diverted in the mid-19th CE century towards Hua Laem by digging a new canal between Ban Kum and Ban Mai, running through stretches of the Bang Kaeo and Lopburi Rivers until Bang Sai.

(2) Khlong Maha Nak is situated off Ayutthaya's city island in the northern area, in the Phukhao Thong Sub-district. The canal was dug during the Siamese-Burmese war of 1563-1564 CE called the "White Elephant War". The Maha Nak Canal ran from Wat Pa Phlu towards Khlong Phukhao Thong.