Sukhothai Historical Park

The park is maintained by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand with help from UNESCO, which has declared it a World Heritage Site.

To the west, Ramkhamhaeng helped the Mons under Wareru (who is said to have eloped with Ramkamhaeng's daughter) to free themselves from Pagan domination and establish a kingdom at Martaban (they later moved to Pegu).

In 1319 the Mon state to the west broke away, and in 1321 the Lanna absorbed Tak, one of the oldest towns under the control of Sukhothai.

Finally in 1378, the armies of the expanding Ayutthaya Kingdom invaded and forced Sukhothai's King Thammaracha II to yield to this new power.

After the Battle of Sittaung River in 1583, King Naresuan of Phitsanulok (and crown prince of Ayutthaya) forcibly relocated people from Sukhothai and surrounding areas to the Southern Central plain,[9] due to the war with the Burmese and an earthquake.

In 1833 Mongkut, during his monkhood, travelled to Sukhothai and discovered the controversial Ramkhamhaeng stele in Wat Mahathat and other artifacts, now in the National Museum in Bangkok.

The formal name of this stone is The King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription Documentary heritage inscribed on the Memory of the World Register in 2003 by UNESCO.

In 1907, Vajiravudh, as crown prince, conducted a two-month archaeological field trip to Nakhon Sawan, Kampheang Phet, Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai, Uttaradit, and Pitsanulok.

The work has been used by later archaeologists and historians including Damrong Rajanubhab, the founder of the modern Thai educational system and George Coedès, a 20th-century scholar of southeast Asian archaeology and history.

At both sides of the main stupa has two nine-metre-tall (30 ft) standing Buddha images called Phra Attharot (Thai: พระอัฏฐารส).

In the southwest, there are the remains of a 1.5-meter-high (4.9 ft) brick platform on which they found ashes and bones inside, so It can be assumed that it was the royal cremation place.

He also discovered the so-called "Manangasila Throne" (Thai: พระแท่นมนังคศิลาอาสน์), an approximately 1m x 2, 50m x 15 cm large slab of gray stone, which is decorated with lotus petals depiction.

Most of the objects on display in the main museum building, come from Sukhothai, others were found in Si Satchanalai, Kamphaeng Phet, Phichit and Phetchabun.

The collection including Buddha images and Hindu god sculptures from Wat Phra Phai Luang and Wat Mahathat, sculptures from the pre-Sukhothai period (about 13th century), Sukhothai artifacts from the 14th and 15th centuries, early Ayutthaya artifacts from about 1351 to 1488, porcelain from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, which was found during the excavations in Sukhothai and Si Satchanalai.

The temple was founded in the late-12th or early-13th century as a Hindu Shrine for Vishnu and the place for the Thiruppavai ceremony before the liberation from Lawo and foundation of Sukhothai Kingdom.

Wat Phra Phai Luang (Thai: วัดพระพายหลวง) was the ritual center of Sukhothai and the biggest temple in the city area.

All three prangs were open to the east, with doors flanked by columns which carry a richly decorated tympanum depicting scenes from the life of Buddha.

In the north-west of prang complex are the remains of late 14th century vihara, mandapa and a small ordination hall with eight Bai Sema.

The stone inscription informed that Wat Asokaram was found in 1399 by the widow of Luethai, the Queen Mother, the "Satṃtec brah Rājadebī Sri Cuḷālakṣana Arrgarājamahesī Debadhòranī Tilakaratana".

In 1361 Lithai appointed the famous monk Mahasamī to be Sangharaja, Mahasami had also acquired his profound knowledge of the Tipitaka during long studies in Ceylon.

Wat Chang Lom (Thai: วัดช้างล้อม) is a temple complex consist of a large stupa in Lanka style with the remains of a gallery, the ruins of a vihara and an ordination hall, surrounded by moat.

Wat Chang Rop (also "Rob") (Thai: วัดช้างรอบ) lies two kilometers west of Sukhothai in the wooded hills as a forest temple.

Wat Si Chum (Thai: วัดศรีชุม) has a massive mandapa in the middle of the complex which was built in the late 14th century by King Maha Thammaracha II.

Around the base of stupa are the remains of unique stucco reliefs depicting many-armed deities with flower vases, their clothing and jewelry attest to the fashion in the time of Sukhothai Kingdom.

To the west, there is a slightly smaller mandapa with a Buddha image, which is called by the locals "Phra Sri Ariya" (Maitreya).

About 100 meters south of the moat is an ordination hall on a slightly elevated mound and has two sets of Bai Sema.

In the Sukhothai time, the ordination hall was separated by a water area from the rest of the temple complex to symbolize purity.

The mandapa has three brick walls and a porch on the east side which is similar to Wat Si Chum, but is much smaller scale.

The Thuriang Kilns (Thai: เตาทุเรียง) are ruins of the old celadon factory, which may have been founded in the late 13th century, are situated near the city moat near Wat Phra Phai Luang.

The ceramic wares found here are generally large bowls and jars; they have a matt yellowish grey glaze, and a design, usually of a flower, a fish, or a whirling circle, painted in black.

Zones of influence of Sukhothai and its neighbours, c. 1300
Inscription stele of King Ram Kamhaeng the Great
Crown prince Vajiravudh conducted archaeological research at Sukhothai in 1907
Map of Sukhothai Historical Park:
  1. King Ramkhamhaeng Monument
  2. Wat Mahāthāt
  3. Ramkhamhaeng National Museum
  4. Wat Traphang Ngoen
  5. Wat Sri Sawai (Wat Sri Svāya)
  6. Wat Traphang Thong
  7. Wat Sra Sri (Wat Sa Si)
  8. Wat Chana Songkhrām
  9. Wat Trakuan
  10. San Ta Pha Daeng (Ta Pha Daeng Shrine)
  11. Wat Phra Phai Luang
  12. Turiang Kilns
  13. Wat Sangkhawat (Wat Sanghāvāsa)
  14. Wat Si Chum
  15. Wat Chang Lom
  16. Wat Thraphang Thong Lang
  17. Wat Chedi Sung
  18. Wat Kon Laeng
  19. Wat Ton Chan
  20. Wat Chetuphon
  21. Wat Chedi Si Hong
  22. Wat Si Phichit Kirati Kanlayaram (Sri Vicitrakirtikanlyārāma)
  23. Wat Wihan Thong,
  24. Wat Asokaram
  25. Wat Mum Langka
  26. Wat Saphan Hin
  27. Wat Aranyik (Wat Arannika)
  28. Wat Chang Rop
  29. Wat Chedi Ngam
  30. Wat Tham Hip
  31. Wat Mangkon
  32. Wat Phra Yuen
  33. Wat Pa Mamuang
  34. Wat Thuek
  35. Phra Ruang Dam
Wat Mahathat
Noen Prasat
King Ramkhamhaeng National Museum
Wat Si Sawai
Wat Phra Phai Luang
Wat Sa Si
Wat Tra Kuan
Wat Chana Songkhram
Wat Pa Mamuang
Wat Chang Lom
Wat Chang Rop
Wat Si Chum
Wat Saphan Hin
Wat Aranyik
Wat Chedi Ngam
Wat Chedi Si Hong
Wat Chetuphon
Wat Traphang Ngoen
Wat Traphang Thong
Wat Tuek
Wat Sorasak
Flag of Thailand
Flag of Thailand