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.
