Wat Sa Bap
| Native Name | วัดสระบาป, វត្តសាបប |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Wat Sra Pap, Wat Sra Bap |
| BA# | T22007 |
| CISARK# | 7697, 4502 |
| K Inscription | K.502 |
| Inscr. Location | Kanchanaphisek National Museum |
| Type | Wat |
| Location | |
| Commune | Khlong Narai |
| District | Muang Chanthaburi |
| Province | Chanthaburi |
| Country | Thailand |
| Coordinates | 12.57676, 102.15065 |
| History | |
| Founded | 7th Century |
| Builder | Isanavarman I |
| Art Style | Sambor Prei Kuk |
Wat Sa Bap (วัดสระบาป - Pronounced: Wot Sa Bap)
This active Buddhist monastery, located to the southeast of Chanthaburi City and slightly east of Boran Sathan Muang Paniat, is the depository for a small collection of artefacts reportedly unearthed in a nearby, now destroyed, mound site known as Wat Samakan or Wat Somphan. (Listed on Beyond Angkor as Prasat Somphan.) The mound, or tuol, was reportedly 3m high and featured brick and laterite fragments as well as several sandstone elements now said to be housed in a shrine, San Chao Pu Khao Sra Bap, at the entrance to the Wat Sra Bap. These include various sculpted sandstone blocks - probably door and window frames - as well as a very archaic-looking soma sutra and a pair of intact lingas while an inscribed fragment of sandstone was subsequently moved to the Wat Thong Thua Museum before finally finding a home at the Kanchanaphisek National Museum. (1)
The text is in Pallava script and describes a donation to a monastery by the Chenla king Isanavarman I, thus providing an early 7th-century date. A second section of what appears to be the same stele was found at Wat Thong Thua with both sections having been catalogued together as K.502.
The wat itself is also reported to house a small bronze Buddha image in a Khmer - probably Bayon-style - although this is unconfirmed and its provenance is unknown. The adjacent hill, Khao Sa Bap, was recorded by early French visitors as housing the remains of several shrines of varying periods and certain artefacts from these sites may also have found their way to the wat.
(1) Certain other artefacts were undoubtedly transferred to museums at the same time and precisely what remains at Wat Sra Bap requires verification.
Map Location
Image Gallery
DESCRIPTION
If you would like to upload additional images to the gallery, please refer to the Upload Instructions guide
Historic Archive
A collection of historic photographs, artist sketches, maps etc. (Please ensure that anything you do upload is free of copyright and/or you have permission from the original photographer/artist/author to share)
Nearby Sites
- Boran Sathan Muang Paniat
- Khai Taksin
- Khao Ploy Waen
- Khao Sa Bap
- Khlung
- Ku Paniat
- National Maritime Museum
- Prasat Chi
- Prasat Noen Sung
- Prasat Paniat Rang
- Prasat Somphan
- Prasat Ti
- Rong Rien Benchamarachuthit
- San Por Hin Mo
- Wat Bon
- Wat Bot Muang
- Wat Klang
- Wat Sa Bap
- Wat Thong Thua
- Wat Thong Thua Museum
- Wat Yotha Nimit (Chanthaburi)
External Links
Links to additional resources such as articles, websites, videos etc.
Further information on K.502 from the SAC website
References