AYUTTHAYA HISTORICAL RESEARCH



WAT CHUMPHON (4)





Wat Chumphon, or the Monastery of the Concentration of Troops, is situated off the city island in the southern area of Ayutthaya, in the Pak Kran Sub-district (1). The monastery is located south of Khlong Takhian (2).


In situ is an elevated brick mound. A new small chedi was built where once stood the ruins of an old chedi. Monks presently inhabit the location, and should be considered a retreat, as no ordination hall exists. [1]


The historical background and period of construction of the temple are unknown.


The site is not mentioned on any maps.


At least three other monasteries off Ayutthaya's city island are called "Chumphon". One site is situated in the northwest in Wat Tum Sub-district (Wat Chumphon 1), a second one in the north in Suan Phrik Sub-district (Wat Chumphon 2) and a third one in the south-east in Khlong Suan Phlu sub-district (Wat Chumphon 3). These monasteries were probably related to warfare and were gathering points for the local male population before going into battle.


Wat Chumphon was in geographical coordinates: 14° 18' 53.72" N, 100° 33' 26.85" E.





(View of the site of Wat Chumphon)



Footnotes:


(1) Sub-district called after the village Ban Samphao Lom near the Chao Phraya River. The village is on the Monthon Krung Kao map (1916 CE). John Bowring (1857, London, John W. Parker and Son, West Strand), in his book ‘The Kingdom and People of Siam’, wrote: "Between the modern and the ancient capital, Bangkok and Ayuthia, is a village called the “Sunken Ship,” the houses being erected round a mast which towers above the surface at low water."

(2) Khlong Takhian is a still existing canal south of Ayutthaya's city island, running mainly through Pak Kran and Khlong Takhian sub-districts. The canal is named after the Malabar Ironwood, a tree often used for making boats and ship masts. The canal originates at the Chao Phraya River near the St Joseph Church in the former Cochin Chinese Settlement. It has its mouth further south, back in the Chao Phraya River, below the former Portuguese settlement and opposite the northern tip of Rian Island (Ko Rian). The canal was a man-made shortcut or 'Khlong lat' between two stretches of the old Lopburi River at a time the waterway was surrounding Ayutthaya, used by boats to avoid the heavy current of the river and the turbulent waters near the Bang Kraja confluence. Takhian is likely a corruption of the name of a former village called Ban Tha Khia near the mouth of the canal.


References:


[1] Interview with a monk and a layman on the premises - 16 September 2010 CE.



Selected PICTURES



Pictures taken September 2010 CE



MAPS



Map 1 - Google Earth.



When the past no longer illuminates the future, the spirit walks in darkness.
(Alexis de Tocqueville)





HISTORY OF AYUTTHAYA



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