Prasat Wat Phra Phai Luang

The three linked towers of Wat Phra Phai Luang were not known for their construction date and patron. The dating could be determined by a building material, namely large laterite blocks which is identical to khmer temples of the late 12th-early 13th century AD or the reign of Jayavarman VII. Prasat Wat Phra Phai Luang should thusly be constructed in this period as a Mahayana Buddhist temple which dominated the scene around this time.

As century progressed, Wat Phra Phai Luang became one of Sukhothai kingdom’s principal temples. The temple complex was rebuilt and added with new buildings. For example, the entrance to the garbhagriha of the central tower was changed from the east to the west, as well as an installation of a new stucco Buddha statue.

The site was listed and declared an ancient monument in the Government Gazette no. 52, part 75, on 8 March 1935.

The restoration project started in 1935, the base was cleared of debris and fallen laterite blocks. The triplet towers were restored especially the east tower after which rows of stucco Buddha images in niches were discovered.

During 1965-1969, Mali Koksanthia, an archaeologist of the Fine Art Department led a further archaeological excavation and restoration at the three towers including their vicinity i.e. the vihara, surrounded chedis and the mandapa.

Wat Phra Phai Luang features the ancient Khmer towers as its main sanctuary along with many buildings both contemporary with the main sanctuary and later buildings from the early to the late Sukhothai period. The complex is surrounded by a ditch called Hauy Mae Chone.

The main sanctuary comprises three laterite towers decorated with stucco on the exterior. They all stands on the same plain rectangular base on the north-south axis. The indented-form towers face toward the east collectively.

Nowadays, only the north tower remains intact among the ruins of the central and south tower. The ruins of the central tower was left only its base and cella. The north tower is still in a very good condition with its four-tiered roof topped with a lotus bud or galasa (holy water pot). It is clearly seen even at the present that the central tower used to be the largest among the three as was common in the ancient khmer temple’s architectural canon.

Prasat Wat Phra Phai Luang is an ancient khmer temple which interestingly shows that the old city of Sukhothai was also under khmer cultural influence and plausibly political power.

The three towers which stand at the centre of the complex are the only surviving original buildings of Wat Phra Phai Luang when it was built in the late 12th to early 13th century AD. Other contemporary buildings were all destroyed. The complex is surrounded by a natural boundary, namely Hauy Mae Chone. Wat Phra Phai Luand is a large complex covering over 10 acres. This massive scale resembles Jayavarman VII’s many temples, for example Prasat Preah Khan and Prasat Ta Prohm with the central towers at the centre and the enclosures distances away. This very large complex should accommodate also the very large number of Buddhist monks, staffs as well as villagers.

คณะกรรมการปรับปรุงบูรณะโบราณสถานจังหวัดสุโขทัยและจังหวัดกำแพงเพชร. รายงานการสำรวจและขุดแต่งโบราณวัตถุสถานเมืองเก่าสุโขทัย พ.ศ. 2508 – 2512 พระนคร : กรมศิลปากร, 2512.

ภาวิณี รัตนเสรีสุข. “วัดพระพายหลวง: แนวความคิดใหม่จากผลการขุดตรวจทางโบราณคดีกับงานวิเคราะห์แบบอย่างสถาปัตยกรรม”, วิทยานิพนธ์ปริญญามหาบัณฑิต สาขาประวัติศาสตร์ศิลปะ บัณฑิตวิทยาลัย มหาวิทยาลัยศิลปากร, 2551.

ศิลปากร, กรม. ทะเบียนโบราณสถาน. กรุงเทพฯ : กรมศิลปากร, 2532.