Renovations Uncover Empty Jars at Thailand’s Wat Daeng Temple

AYUTTHAYA, THAILAND—Archaeologists renovating the chapel of Wat Daeng temple in the Tha Rua district of Ayutthaya found 32 jars buried beneath the chapel’s main Buddha statue, according to a report in The Bangkok Post. The empty jars, buried bottom up in rows, were spotted when a brick was removed from a wall in the statue’s base. Archaeologist Chaiyos Charoensantipong of the Third Fine Arts Office explained that the jars were probably added as a structural support for the 300-year-old statue, and will help researchers understand how the chapel was constructed. The heads of four of the six Buddha statues in the chapel were stolen in 2009. For more, go to “The Buddha of the Lake.”