Sa Kaeo (Si Mahosot Site No 12)

Sa Kaeo (Si Mahosot Site No 12) is an 18m by 18m pond dug about 5m deep into a natural laterite deposit. Dating to the 5th-6th centuries, this pond was believed to be a sacred site for performing religious ceremonies and other major rituals. It has a staircase on the west side.

The edges of the pond are adorned with 45 bas reliefs. All these animal reliefs are considered auspicious symbols of fertility, influenced by Indian art in the Amaravati and Gupta styles:

24 elephants, single and in groups of two to five, in various positions (one holding a water pot);
8 single framed Makaras of different styles, with short and long trunks, scales like those of a crocodile and horns;
11 single framed lions in different positions;
1 cobra spreading its hood with its head facing the pond and the body curling around the frame;
1 boar in a standing position with bent hind legs, straight front legs, and its face turned upwards. Its tail curls into a circle;
1 kinnari, a mystical creature that is a half-woman, half-bird.

Certain parts of the pond were carved in the image of a cobra spreading its hood with its head facing the pond and the body curling around the frame.

In the middle of the pond to the north is an elevated floor with a staircase and pillar holes, believed to be a pavilion. Its front was carved in the shape of a water pot placed between two elephants.
 

Ayutthaya Historical Research