Sukhothai Old City - Wat Mahathat

The most splendid wat of the present ruined city was the Wat Mahathat near the earlier Royal Palace, a wooden building of which no trace remains. This wat alone covered an area of 4 ha (10 acres) and was surrounded by 185 chedis, six wiharns of varying size, a bot and eleven salas; a wall punctuated by gates encircled the area. The center of the site is most impressive, a main chedi with both a wiharn and a bot. The towering finely constructed chedi in pure Sukhothai style terminates in the tip of a lotus bud. The middle section resembles the Khmer prangs, the high square base is decorated by a procession of worshippers with 40 figures of about one meter high on each side. The niches of the four corner chapels show fine stucco work, rosettes, scenes from the life of Buddha, gods and demons in conflict; both niches and the pedestal ledge have Buddha figures.

Four Khmer prangs in the center of each side describe the four points of the compass.