WAT PHISUA





Wat Phisua (1) was located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in the Khlong Sra Bua sub-district, Moo 6. The monastery was situated west of the road running parallel with Khlong Hua Ro (2), south of Wat Khruttharam and west of Wat Khae, adjacent to the former location of Wat Lamut. Wat Phisua was in Thung Kaeo (3).


Wat Phisua is an unrestored and rather large ruin, totally covered with vegetation. Access is somehow a bit difficult. Remnants of the outer wall and some chedi foundations can be seen, while orange-red flat bricks are shattered all over the place. Observing the digging holes, the site has been a victim of treasure farming in earlier times. The monastery is surrounded by a moat (clearly visible from satellite pictures).


Historical data about the monastery and its construction are unknown. The site features in a 1993 and 2007 CE Foreign Arts Department map.


Some temple remains are found in geographical coordinates: 14° 22' 29.46" N, 100° 33' 35.91" E.





Footnotes:

(1) The denomination Phisua refers likely not to a butterfly but to a kind of yaksa, also called raksot (รากษส), a giant who had the duty to protect or take care of a water entity such as a river, a canal, a swamp or a sea. [1] In the epic story written by Sunthon Phu (1787–1855 CE) the poem of Phra Aphai Mani, we find such a water demon called Nang Phisua Samut (ocean demon). A demon statue can be seen on Phuktian beach in the Cha-Am District of Petchaburi Province.
(2) Khlong Hua Ro is situated off the city island in the northern area, north of the Hua Ro Sub-district. The canal is the western border of the Suan Phrik Sub-district and the eastern border of the Lum Phli and Khlong Sra Bua sub-districts. The old Lopburi River bed ran from Wat Khao Din (Wat Wora Nayok Rangsan) in Bang Pahan District towards the city of Ayutthaya and is now divided into four stretches Khlong Ban Muang from Wat Muang until Wat Dao Khanong in Bang Pahan District Khlong Bang Khuat (a short-cut canal in the Lopburi River loop) from Wat Dao Khanong to (south of) Wat Klang Raman in Ayutthaya City District Khlong Hua Ro from (north of) Wat Pom Raman to Hua Ro in Ayutthaya City District.
(3) Thung Kaeo, or Crystal Field, is an area north of the city of Ayutthaya bordered on the west and north by Khlong Sra Bua, on the east by Khlong Hua Ro, and on the south by Khlong Mueang.

References:

[1] พจนานุกรมสถาปัตยกรรมและศิลปะเกี่ยวเนื่อง ศาสตราจารย์โชติ กัลยาณมิตร (2005). p. 331.