WAT RANG (2)





Wat Rang is an abandoned monastery situated off the city island in the eastern area of Ayutthaya, in the Khlong Suan Phlu Sub-district.


Wat Bot Daeng (restored chedi) stood north, and Wat Kradok (restored ruin) northwest.


The monastery could find its place within a cluster of four temples, the others being Wat Chumphon, Wat Phra Non and Wat Kradok along Khlong Wat Phra Non.


The site is hidden behind an apartment complex and can be challenging to find.


In situ is a medium-sized mound, most of which has collapsed due to seasonal flooding. When visiting the site in May 2009 CE, we saw that large holes had been excavated on the spot. We found no foundations of a chedi or prayer hall. A large number of fragmented Buddha images was seen, including portions of a head. Some of this debris is quite large, suggesting that a Buddha image of significant height once stood at this monastery. A large number of bricks are scattered across the mound. Water, maybe a remnant of a moat, made it difficult to access the site.


There is no information on its history or date of establishment.





(View of the site of Wat Rang in 2009 CE)



In June 2019 CE, the Fine Arts Department (FAD) - 3rd Region announced on their Facebook page that the location was under threat of being levelled and intervened to suspend the construction works near this landmark to protect it. FAD wrote that they surveyed in August 2018 CE and found a mound of about 20 metres in size. The site consisted of at least two knolls and a stretch of water surrounding the mound. Artefacts found in situ were transferred to the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.


FAD gave two names for the site, Wat Khok Sam Rong and Wat Song Ong. The existence of the site was already known since the location figured on the 1974 CE FAD map and was named Wat Rang (deserted temple) on their 1993 CE map. I presume that the present denomination of the site is just fictive and has no historical background.


The site is in geographical coordinates: 14° 20' 23.53" N, 100° 35' 35.97" E.