Wat Ku Suwan Wanaram
| Native Name | วัดกู่สุวรรณวนาราม, វត្តគូសុវណ្ណវ៉ាន់រ៉ាម |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Ku Suwan Wanaram, Wat Ku Suwanwanaram, Wat Kusuwanwanaram, Pho Yai (CIS) |
| BA# | T36013 |
| CISARK# | 4305 |
| Size | Medium |
| Condition | Tuol |
| Type | Temple |
| Location | |
| Part of | Wat Ku Suwan Wanaram |
| Village | Ban Muang |
| Commune | Ban Lao |
| District | Muang Chaiyaphum |
| Province | Chaiyaphum |
| Country | Thailand |
| Coordinates | 15.85815, 102.03071 |
| History | |
| Material | Laterite, Sandstone |
Wat Ku Suwan Wanaram (วัดกู่สุวรรณวนาราม - Pronounced: Wot Koo Soo-wan Wana-ram)
This small, rural wat complex houses a substantial-sized and eclectic collection of ancient artefacts display on its grounds in and around a clutch of spirit shrines. A number are Dvaravati sema stones, at least one of which has an inscription in, we believe ancient Mon, while others may be ancient lingas. Most are plated vertically in the ground, which makes sense with the bai semas, but some appear to be simply upended rectangular laterite blocks.
A number of sandstone blocks of varying shapes and sizes are also laid out on the ground while the central feature is a large, Khmer-style, sandstone statue plinth. Given the volume of artefacts, plus a number of smaller fragments which probably were not worth transferring from elsewhere, we'd assume that at least some of the vestiges were discovered in situ.
No associated moat is discernible, although field embankments a short distance to the northeast may conceivably correspond to the site of an ancient reservoir. We were unable to find inscription details and so neither the Dvaravati nor Khmer artefacts are readily datable, but the site clearly once housed both a Mon Buddhist temple and a Khmer Hindu sanctuary.
Inscription information and some on-the-ground verification of certain of the artefacts are required.
Update: older satellite images appear to confirm a former rectangular reservoir amid the paddy-fields east of the wat. Only a few sections of embankment remain discernable today but this in turn would confirm the wat as the site of an ancient sanctuary. The now largely destroyed reservoir is listed as Baray Ku Suwan Wanaram.
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Nearby Sites
- Ban Nong Haen (Muang Chaiyaphum)
- Baray Ku Suwan Wanaram
- Baray Prang Ku Chaiyaphum
- Baray Prasat Muang Noi Tai
- Baray Prasat Si Yaek Rong Tom
- Boran Sathan Ham Hok
- Kut Chuak
- Muang Boran Ham Hok
- Non Phon
- Prang Don Ku
- Prang Ku Chaiyaphum
- Prasat Muang Noi Tai
- Prasat Phu Khong
- Prasat Si Yaek Rong Tom
- San Ta Pha Khao
- Sathani Tamruat Puthorn Ban Khwao
- T36035
- Wat Bueng Waeng
- Wat Klang Muang Kao
- Wat Ku Suwan Wanaram
- Wat Prang Ku Chaiyaphum
- Wat Sa Kaeo
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References