Wat Chang Rop

Large temple situated on the highest point of the Aranyik area facing in eastward direction. Its main chedi of Ceylonese style was built in bell shape of vast size modified from a type of a chedi surrounded with 68 elephant sculptures in Sukhothai style. There are also demon and female dancing figures remaining. There are traces of a laterite wall in the east and south. In front of the main chedi is a laterite base of a vihara and a rectangular pond dug into a bed of laterite.

Situated in the highest part of the mound in the Aranyik area of Kamphaeng Phet, this ancient monument faces eastward. There are traces of laterite wall in the east and south. The principle chedi was built in a bell shape of vast size modified from a type of a chedi surrounded with elephant sculptures in Sukhothai style. In front of the main chedi is a laterite base of a vihara and a rectangular pond, dug into a bed of laterite, used as a quarry for building. The lower base of the principle chedi was built in a square shape of large size and considerable height with steep stairways on four sides leading to the upper base used for a ritual walk in a clockwise direction. Each stairway was decorated with lion and gate guardian sculptures, now perishing. At four entrances to the upper base, archways each topped with a spire of a bell-shaped chedi were constructed, regarded as a unique character not found in any ancient monuments either in Sukhothai or Kamphaeng Phet. The lower square base was ornamented with 68 elephant sculptures each with a head and two feet projecting from each side of the base. Each elephant figure in stuccoed relief was moulded with a laterite core inside and ornamental designs around the neck and legs. The space between each elephant sculpture was decorated with flora designs in high relief. Regrettably, these stuccoed reliefs were very much damaged. The upper base was enclosed with a low wall made of brick with the already mentioned archways on four sides and small chedis at four corners. Remains of the four corner chedis are their bases and uppermost parts which indicate their shape in the carambola. Remains of the principal chedi on the upper base include octagonal and circular tiers and a little bit of its upper parts, whereas its spire or uppermost part has all gone. Its circular tier above the octagonal one was decorated with stuccoed reliefs divided into 44 compartments depicting the story of Buddha. The stuccoed reliefs are now in ruins. There are beautiful swan figures made of terracotta ornamented beneath these stuccoed reliefs.

In front of the principal chedi, a vihara base in rectangular form with front and back porches was found. Also discovered were a pedestal for the main Buddha image of this vihara and traces of a structure raised above floor-level for monks to sit on. The principal Buddha statue has gone. Quadrilateral pillars to support the structure of a roof were made of laterite. To the north of the vihara, there is a base of a building of small size. Judging from sema stones around the base, the building is supposed to be the ordination hall of this temple. A bell-shaped chedi decorated with elephant figures around its base was prevalent during the Sukhothai period in Sukhothai and its associated towns, namely Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet. Presumably, this type of chedi was influenced by the architectural style of Sri Lanka diffused through Nakhon Si Thammarat, from which Sukhothai adopted Theravada Buddhism and also the kind of bell-shaped chedi decorated with elephant sculptures around its base in Wat Phra Boromma That.

Ayutthaya Historical Research