Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya
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| Wat Ratchaburana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Entrance of Wat Ratchaburana | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Theravada Buddhism |
| Location | |
| Location | Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya Province |
| Country | Thailand |
  Location in Thailand | |
| Coordinates | 14°21′32″N 100°34′4″E / 14.35889°N 100.56778°E |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Borommarachathirat II |
| Completed | 1424 |
| Official name: Historic City of Ayutthaya | |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii |
| Designated | 1991 |
| Parent listing | Historic City of Ayutthaya |
| Reference no. | 576 |
| Region | Asia and the Pacific |
Wat Ratchaburana (Thai: วัดราชบูรณะ) is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Ayutthaya Historical Park, Ayutthaya, Thailand. The temple's main prang is one of the finest in the city. Located in the island section of Ayutthaya, Wat Ratchaburana is immediately north of Wat Mahathat.[1]
Wat Ratchaburana was founded in 1424 by King Borommarachathirat II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom and built on the cremation site of his two elder brothers. The two brothers had fought to their deaths in a duel for the royal succession to their father Intha Racha.[2]
Architecture and art
The temple's central prang has undergone restoration. Original stucco work can be seen, for example Garuda swooping down on nāga. Other mythical creatures as well as lotus are featured. Four Sri Lankan stupas surround the main prang.[1][3]
The prang's crypt, accessible by steep stairs, houses faded frescoes. These comprise some of the rare such examples from the early Ayutthaya period.[2] The crypt's Buddha images, now housed in the Chao Sam Phraya Museum, exhibit both Khmer and Sukhothai influences.[3]
Looting of the crypt
The discovery of the temple's crypt in 1956 became nationwide news. In 1957, a large group of thieves illegally excavated the crypt and looted numerous Buddha images and gold artifacts. The perpetrators were later arrested, but only a portion of the stolen items was recovered; some of the recovered objects are now housed in the nearby Chao Sam Phraya Museum.[1][3]
Subsequent official excavations by Thailand's Fine Arts Department uncovered far more material, including more than 2,000 objects, over 100,000 votive tablets, and more than 100 kilograms of gold, as well as many rare Buddha images. The finds are now kept at the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum.
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