Wat Thap Yan
| Native Name | วัดทัพยาน, វត្តថាបយ៉ាន |
|---|---|
| BA# | T17011 |
| Size | Medium |
| Condition | Tuol |
| Type | Temple |
| Location | |
| Commune | Thiang Thae |
| District | Sankhaburi |
| Province | Chai Nat |
| Country | Thailand |
| Coordinates | 15.05639, 100.17678 |
| History | |
| Founded | 11th Century (?) |
| Art Style | Baphuon |
Wat Thap Yan (วัดทัพยาน - Pronounced: Wot Tap Yan)
This active Buddhist monastery, situated on the east bank of the Noi River a short distance from Sankhaburi Town, occupies a square moated site which is likely to have been the location of a Khmer-period shrine or temple. As far as we can discern no visible vestiges - apart from the moat to the north and south of the compound - are present although the wat is said to have been the original location of the famous Luang Pho Chai Buddha at Wat Phra Kaew (Chai Nat).
The story claims that the laterite image was carried by boat the short distance down the Noi to its new home although fails to explain why it was relocated. It's reasonable, although speculative, to assume that the lintel section encased on the rear side of the statue, was unearthed at Wat Thap Yan and was put in place before the image was moved.
The moated area which houses Wat Thap Yan today is aligned west-southwest by east-northeast and measures 200m on each side. Furthermore, several mound sites are discernable in the immediate vicinity of the wat including Wat Phikul (southeast), Wat Khanun (just northwest of the corner of the moat), Wat Ket (1), Wat Ket 2 and Wat Ket 3, (some 500m northwest) and Wat Sa Krathum (200m north). While these sites are very plausibly associated with an ancient temple site at Wat Thap Yan we have no conclusive information or images as yet and, as in the case of the cluster of sites west of Phra Kaew, its impossible to ascertain without on the ground confirmation whether they correspond to Khmer shrines or later, possible Sukhothai, chedis. (A future survey is planned, so - watch this space!)
Along with the west bank sites beyond Wat Phra Kaew and the cluster of ancient temple sites within present-day Sankhaburi Town, (several of which can confidently be assigned Khmer-period dates), these vestiges emphasise the existence of an important and substantial-sized settlement in the area which continued to be occupied into the period of Angkorian control.
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