Wat Khok Khamin, or the Monastery of the Mound of the Curcuma Plant, (1) was located in the southwestern part of Ayutthaya’s city island in the Pratu Chai Sub-district. The site was within the Ayutthaya Historical Park.
There are no traces anymore visible of the monastery above ground level. The author presumes this area was already cleared of temple ruins before Phraya Boran Rachathanin arrived in Ayutthaya. Phraya Boran (1871-1936 CE) was the Superintendent Commissioner of Monthon Ayutthaya from 1925 till 1929 CE but occupied important functions since 1896 CE in Monthon Ayutthaya.
Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown.
Wat Khok Khamin must have been approximately situated in geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 44.24" N, 100° 32' 59.64" E and I presume in a line (N-S) with Wat Hoi Khong (defunct).
Wat Khok Khamin on the maps
Only a 19th-century map by an unknown surveyor shows Wat Khok Khamin and represents it with a chedi. Wat Lanthom Yai stood northwest, Wat Sangkha Tha east and an unnamed temple south. The latter stood between Wat Khok Khamin and Wat Hoi Khong.
Phraya Boran Ratchathanin’s map of 1926 CE shows a temple with an identical name, north of Khlong Tha Phra, along the south side of Talaeng Kaeng Road near the Lam Hoei Bridge. Because of the distance, this monastery must have been another one.
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 and 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 cuisines. It is also used for dyeing and imparting colour 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."
