Khok Setthi Archaeological Site

Khok Setthi is an ancient Dvaravati stupa located at the foot to the east of Khao Chom Prasat, which is a part of the area's Permian limestone hill range, in Cha-Am District of Phetchaburi. There are traces of another brick ruin on the highest point of Khao Chom Prasat. A few bricks were also found at Khao Tha Chin, a small isolated hill north of Khao Chom Prasat.

The brick ruin is square in plan, with the base measuring 25 x 25 m. The layout of the monument is similar to the Dvaravati stupas in the western part of Thailand. Examples are the Dvaravati monuments No 8 and No 31 at Khu Bua in Ratchaburi Province, demonstrating some characteristics similar to those of the Gupta and post-Gupta stupas of the 3rd-7th centuries CE.

The monument is decorated with stucco reliefs. Hundreds of sculptures of wide-ranging characters from Buddha images and deities to nobles and ordinary people to dwarves, demons, and animals, have been discovered at or around the ruin. Some decorative pillars, fragments with flower motif, and other architectural decoration pieces have also been discovered. The style of these stucco sculptures can be compared with the style of these found at other Dvaravati sites such as ancient Nakhon Pathom and Khu Bua in Ratchaburi Province.

[Source: Uncovering Southeast Asia's Past: Selected Papers from the 10th International Conference of the European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists: the British Museum, London, 14th-17th September 2004 - European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists. International Conference, Ian Glover, European Association of Southeast Asian Archaeologists - NUS Press, 2006]

Ayutthaya Historical Research