Wat Phra Mahathat is one of the hundreds of temples inside Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the former capital of Ayutthaya Kingdom. It was believed to have been erected around the 1370s, among the oldest Buddhist pagodas in Ayutthaya. The main tower in the middle has once reached 44 meters, but tragically collapsed around the year of 1911 and nowadays only the base, certain smaller pagodas and several structures scattered nearby can be observed. Still distinguishable is the main pagoda, which features lotus-flower-bud-shape pinnacle on top. The pagoda was built with soil appeared in dark reddish or brown shade, and decorated with grayish plaster. In 1956, a massive stash of Buddha statues and precious gems were unearthed in the basement underground, most of which are stored and displayed in the National Museum at present.

However, the most renowned feature of Wat Phra Mahathat is evidently the Buddha head embedded among the roots of an old tree. The image of this head has been one of the most recognizable features of Ayutthaya, and has graced the covers of innumerable post cards, tourism brochures, travel guidance and the likes. Legend has it, that in order to protect the Buddhist statues during the wartime, the pilgrims buried the heads of the statues underground and one of them happened to fall right among the roots of a tree, intertwined with them and become inseparable after the centuries. But there’s another prevailing story stating that during the chaotic times, the looters snapped more Buddha heads than they could carry, and one of them fell upon the roots and grew into a part of the tree. In Thailand, Buddhism is the most supreme and revered belief, therefore nothing whatsoever in the universe can surpass the Buddha. When taking photo with this Buddha head, make sure to duck down your head beneath the Buddha head to show respect.