Wat Nan Chang ( th, วัดหนานช้าง; "Nan Chang's Temple") is a ruined 16th or 17th century temple in the Wiang Kum Kam archaeological complex near modern Chiang Mai in northern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. Excavated from 2002 to 2003, the temple primarily provides evidence of ancient flooding in the region, having been inundated by some 1.8 meters of sediment. It is speculated that it was built to face a now dried up route of the

Ping River The Ping River ( th, แม่น้ำปิง, , ), along with the Nan River, is one of the two main tributaries of the Chao Phraya River. It originates at Doi Thuai in the Daen Lao Range, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province. After p ...

, a major transportation and trade route of historic periods. Notably within the ' Wiang Kum Kam archaeological group, the site includes structures from two different historic periods that had been built directly on top of one another. It also faces north, whereas most of the other temples in the group face east. A stucco of a ''

makara ''Makara'' ( sa, मकर, translit=Makara) is a legendary sea-creature in Hindu mythology. In Hindu astrology, Makara is equivalent to the Zodiac sign Capricorn. Makara appears as the vahana (vehicle) of the river goddess Ganga, Narmada, a ...

'' (a mythical sea creature from Indian mythology, blending crocodile, dolphin and elephant features) with a ''

nāga The Nagas (IAST: ''nāga''; Devanāgarī: नाग) are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...

'' protruding from its mouth was found associated with a stairway. Under the middle of the main pedestal base for the main Buddha image in the vihara, three additional stuccos were found of a

qilin The qilin (; ) is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology, and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the mythological family of ...

(Chinese mythical creature), a

hemaraj The hemaraj ( th, เหมราช) is a creature found in Thai and possibly South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of ...

(an apparently either uniquely Thai or rare South Asian mythical lion/swan creature) and a lion. In addition, Chinese ceramics of the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

were found in two groups, demonstrating a trade relationship between Wiang Kum Kam and China.

References

* Oliver Hargreave: ''Exploring Chiang Mai, City, Valley & Mountains''. Within Books, 4th Edition, 2013. Nan Chang 17th century in Chiang Mai {{Wiang Kum Kam

See also

References