Wat Mahathat Ayutthaya was built in the early period
in 1374. The main stupa is Pang shape made of laterite but in the later
periods was resored with brick.
The construction of Wat Mahathat was begun during
the reign of King Borommarachathirat I in 1374 A.D. but was completed during
the reign of King Ramesuan (1388-1395 A.D.) When King Songtham (1610-1628
A.D.) was in power the main prang (Khmerstyle tower) collapsed. The
restoration work on the prang was probably completed in the reign of King
Prasatthong (1630-1655 A.D.) During the restoration the height of the prang
was considerably increased.
Wat Mahathat was restored once again during the
reign of King Borommakot (1732-1758 A.D.) when four porticos of the main
prang were added. In 1767 A.D. when Ayutthaya was sacked the wat was burnt
and has since then been in ruins.
Wat Mahathat was a royal monastery and has been the
seat of the Sangaraja, the head of the Buddhist monks of the Kamavasi sect,
since the time of the Mahathera Thammakanlayan, who was a contemporary of
King Borommarachathirat I, who built the wat.
During the reign of King
Rama VI in the Rattanakosin Period,
about 1911 A.D., the main prang of the wat collapsed again and looters
seized the opportunity to dig for treasure. Only in 1956 A.D. did the Fine
Arts Department undertake excavations around the central area of the prang
where the relics must have been kept. The relics of the Buddha were found in
the stupa within a seven layer reliquary. Other antiquities were recovered
as well, including Buddha images, votive tables, covered boxes shaped like
fish and golden plaques in the form of animals. All these objects are now at
the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
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