Wat Phra Non is surrounded by a rectangular laterite boundary wall, with a square well, bathing place, and small structure built on a laterite base and having laterite columns outside the wall in the front. There is a pathway paved with laterite, as well. Inside the wall, there are remains of a large ubosot in the front and a large vihara that once housed a Reclining Buddha at the back. The columns of the vihara are enormous, each made of a single block of laterite. The entire column was cut out in one single piece from its source and measures 1.1 meters on each side and 6.4 meters in height, the largest such stone in the country. Sema boundary markers made of stone and carved to depict an angel in adoration and characters in the Ramakian or Ramayana story, namely, phalli and Thoraphi, were discovered here. They are believed to have been carved in the Ayutthaya period.
Located in the Aranyik area outside the town wall in the north, this temple of large size derives its name "Phra Non” from the principal Buddha image in reclining posture enshrined in its vihara. In front of the temple, there is a group of ancient monuments consisting of a building without a wall, a washroom and a well dug into a bed of laterite. The temple was arranged in a rectangular shape. Important buildings within the temple were constructed in line with the east-west axis. All the buildings were made of laterite. A temple wall was built on two sides on the east and south and made of blocks of laterite set up vertically, with blocks of laterite laid horizontally on top. The wall built in this form was found in many temples both within the town walls and in the Aranyik area. The temple was divided into two zones the Buddhavasa precinct enclosed with a boundary wall and the monastic area outside the boundary wall. A walkway from the front or eastern gate leading to the Buddhavasa area was paved with laterite. Both sides of the walkway were lined with laterite pillars with lamps or lanterns placed on top. At the front of the temple, the ordination hall was built on a rectangular base of receding tiers in the form of a lotus with indented corners forming a kind of front and back porches.
A base of the main Buddha image remains, but the image is in decay. Pillars supporting a roof and part of the roof forming verandas along the sides of the ordination hall were made of laterite in octagonal form. Eight sima stones on pedestals around the ordination hall were carved out of slate with beautiful flora and flower designs and edged with intriguing Kanok motifs. Some carved sima stones depict a scene from Ramayana. These sima stones are on display in Kamphaeng Phet National Museum. This ordination hall was likely to be built later in the Ayutthaya period. In the Sukhothai period, an ordination hall was constructed neither large nor the main building.
Furthermore, decorative designs on sima stones belong to the Ayutthaya style. Behind the ordination hall is a vihara enshrining a reclining Buddha image.
The vihara was built on a base of an overturned lotus superimposed on an unadorned square base. The base in this form is different from other bases. Inside the vihara, only the base of the reclining Buddha image remains. The image itself has perished. Pillars supporting a vihara roof were made of laterite, each in a single block of vast size about 11 metres wide and 4-5 metres high. These pillars are a striking feature of Kamphaeng Phet architecture in using building materials of vast size for construction. Presumably, the roof structure was made of wood because there are square holes in the uppermost part of the roof provided for timber joints. The vihara wall was made of laterite with openings to let in light in the form of a row of balusters. This vihara was topped with a single roof with extended parts in three levels along both sides of the vihara. The principal chedi is located behind the vihara. This circular or bell-shaped chedi rests on superimposed bases of different forms. Its lowermost square base has a front niche for enshrining a Buddha image. Its multi receding tiered base in octagonal shape, regarded as a typical style of Kamphaeng Phet, supports the three-tiered structure in the form of an overturned lotus. Above its bell-shaped body of considerable size in Sukhothai style is a square base in lotus form. Its highest part in the shape of a cone is in ruins. Behind the principal chedi are a base of a building and a square mandapa looking similar to the principle mandapa of Wat Nong Phikun in Nakhon Chum.
Source: Ayutthaya Historical Research
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