Prasat Hin Phanom Wan

Prasat Phanom Wan is in Ban Makha, Pho Sub-district, around 15 kilometres from the city on the Nakhon Ratchasima - Khon Kaen Road. It shares the same entrance as Wat Nong Chok, on the opposite side of the road. The sanctuary was constructed on top of a 10th-century AD brick structure. Later, during the 13th and 14th centuries, a stone building was built over it. According to a stone inscription found in the area, it was first constructed as a Hindu temple and later adapted into a Buddhist sanctuary. Its Khmer style resembles Prasat Hin Phimai, but the size is smaller. The central prang facing east was built of sandstone and was connected to the mandapa by a square path of 25.5 m in length and 10.20 m in width.

A laterite wall surrounds the Prasat and has entrances from four directions. Outside the walls are four ponds. The temple houses several Buddha images, lingams (phallus sculptures) and Shiva’s bull mount, Nandi. A Buddha’s footprint is located in the building south of the central prang within the sanctuary’s inner walls. To the southwest is a structure of red sandstone called “Prang Noi.” Inside is a large stone Buddha image. A roofed sandstone walkway and a laterite wall go around the sanctuary. A Gopura (a sanctuary doorway or porch) in the form of a tall tower is situated in all four directions. Around 230 metres east of the sanctuary are traces of a moat and an earth hill that was the site of another Khmer building called “Noen Oraphim.”

Ayutthaya Historical Research