WAT DHAMMACHAK SEMARAM, THAILAND—The 1,300-year-old temple of Wat Dhammachak Semaram in Sung Noen is famous for housing the oldest reclining Buddha statue in Thailand, which measures 43 feet long. The Thaiger reports that during recent restoration and conservation work, archaeologists uncovered an extraordinary cache of treasures that researchers believe could change scholarly understanding of the region's early Buddhist art. Hidden three feet beneath the sculpture, the team found an earthenware vessel containing 33 gold, silver, and bronze items, including rings and earrings. However, the most noteworthy finds were two repoussé plaques, one gold and one made from a lead-tin alloy. Repoussé is an artistic technique where raised designs are created by hammering or punching out the motif from the back. The gold plaque depicts a seated Buddha in a vitakra mudra, or teaching position, while the other depicts a standing Buddha flanked by attendants, one of whom is believed to be Brahma. Experts believe these finds confirm that Sung Noen was once a thriving religious hub during Thailand’s Dvaravati era from the sixth to eleventh centuries. “These finds are extraordinary,” said Phnombootra Chadrajoti, director-general of Thailand’s Fine Arts Department. “They offer significant insights into the craftsmanship and religious devotion of the period.” To read about a sixteenth-century monastery that houses a giant gold statue of a reclining Buddha, go to "Letter from Cambodia: Storied Landscape."
