Ban Phra Puet

Terrain

General Condition

Ban Phra Puet ancient community It is a mound surrounded by a moat and an embankment. The city plan is rectangular, about 800 meters wide, about 1,000 meters long, comprising a two-tiered ditch and three-tiered embankment, about 4 meters high from the surrounding rice fields and 158 meters above sea level. The highest point of the hill is around Wat Prasat Kaew. and the mound to the north of the temple The area has a slope from east to west. Inside the original source is a dense forest. but now it is a sparse forest farmland and people's houses

The ancient city of Ban Phra Puet is located along the northeast-southwest direction. It consists of a two-tier ditch and three-tiered embankment, with the outermost layer being the outer ridge. Next to the outer ditch Middle soil embankment, inner ditch and inner soil embankment respectively (Phanuwat Ueasamarn 2002)

The north and east outer embankments are still visible. Originally, the two embankments had the same height. Just later, the area was plowed to make roads. As for the western outer embankment, there was no trace. It is assumed that it was plowed for agriculture in the latter days.

The middle embankment on all sides was clearly visible. But there are some that have been plowed into farmland and residential areas.

Floor embankments in the west, north and east. The traces are clearly visible. But the ridge in the south side was converted to a road in the village. and connect to nearby villages

Currently, some ditches of the ancient community have been excavated by the Royal Irrigation Department. for storing water for use in the village The northern outer ditch is called "Nong Tale", the eastern outer ditch, which is still in its original condition. The outer ditch on the south east side has been dredged and called “Nong Yai”, while the outer ditch on the south west side Currently, the condition is a rice field.

The inner ditch was clearly visible on all sides and had been excavated. Only a few areas were encroached on roads and homes. In addition, within the source between the hillside of the village and the upper soil embankment on the north side, there is a fairly large swamp known as "Nong Phue" and occupies the area between the edge of Wat Prasat Kaew hill and the top soil embankment in the east. There was another large swamp. But now some of the swamps have been filled for use in the area.

On the east side outside the city, there is "Huai Rawi" which is a natural river that flows through the northeastern ridge. This creek is a tributary of the Mun River.

In addition, Phra Puet town is located far from Huai Lahan. It is about 5 kilometers west of the Chima River, about 16 kilometers east of the Chima River, and 35 kilometers south of the Mun River.

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Huai Rawee, Chi River, Mun River

Geological conditions

The ancient city was characterized by mounds on the plains formed by the deposition of sediments in the Quaternary period. The area by the notch is a flat area with slightly undulating slopes.

Soil characteristics (Department of Fine Arts 1983 :3-4; Panuwat Ueasamarn 2002) is the Roi-Et Series soil, rather crumbly, the origin of the soil that has been accumulated by water for a long time. With a slope of more than 2%, this soil is very deep. have bad drainage slow water permeability There is a slow runoff of water on the surface of the soil. Groundwater is normally 3 meters deep in the dry season. The topsoil is not more than 25 cm deep. The soil texture is loam or silty clay. The color of the soil is brown, light brown or light grayish brown. with dark brown dots Yellowish brown or reddish brown with a pH of about 5.2-5.8, moderately acidic to strong acid.

The subsoil that is deeper than 25 centimeters has a loamy soil texture. till the clay The color of the soil is light grayish brown. or light gray There is a dark brown spot. Reddish-yellow or red with a pH of about 5-5.6, moderately acidic to strong acid. In addition, the soil is salinity caused by the accumulation of salt beneath the soil surface. The results of soil chemical analysis showed that the organic matter content was relatively low. It has very low levels of phosphorus and potassium that are beneficial to plants.

Surrounding the source, which is now a rice field, is the Roi-Et Series, which is the soil formed by the water-swept source material as well as within the source.

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Past studies by the Fine Arts Department and Mr. Panuwat Ueasamarn (2002) concluded that the ancient community of Ban Phra Puet, Surin Province showed traces of human use of space since prehistoric times until the present. by appearing large mounds There is a layer of deposition of earthenware fragments at a deeper level from the soil surface. It indicates that human habitation activities have overlapped for a long time.

(Pid is a tribute language, meaning big)

Early 1 This is the initial stage of settlement in this area. The age can be about 2500-1,500 years ago, corresponding to the Iron Age or the late prehistoric period. The location of the community is a mound near a natural water source. in the lowlands low level riverbed Suitable for farming, rice cultivation Simple shaped pottery was produced. Iron was smelted to make tools and utensils. There is a second burial tradition where the bones of the deceased are placed in an earthen vessel and buried in the ground again. and have connections with other communities outside While this area has appeared many ancient communities of the same era along the Huai Rawi. The main archaeological site is the mineral house. which is a large community from iron smelting activities Evidence of long-suing burial traditions and burial in clay vessels. Therefore, it is assumed that there may have been settlements at Ban Rae before migrating to the community at Ban Phra Puet.

Early 2 The ancient community of Ban Phra Puet lived continuously from Phase 1, but the community has expanded. It is a large farming community. more complicated A ditch was dug and an earth embankment was built around the dwellings for consumption and flood protection. because it is located on the edge of the river During this period, it is considered to have entered a historical era, about 1,500 years ago, while other ways of life continued from the first period, including iron smelting, rice cultivation, and pottery making. A second funeral tradition, but this community may not play a large role in politics and culture.

The shape of the city plan is rectangular. It is positioned along the east-northwest-southwest, approximately 800 meters wide, about 1,000 meters long, consisting of a 2-tier ditch and a 3-tiered embankment, with the outermost layer being the outer ridge. Next to the outer ditch The middle soil embankment, the inner ditch and the inner soil embankment, respectively, with the Huai Rawi River, which is a natural waterway that flows close to the northeastern moat. This is probably an important water source that nourishes the moat and is also an important transportation route since it connects to Lahan Creek and Mun River.

Early 3 It was a time when culture had influenced to cover this region. As it appears, the ancient monument was made of laterite Mahayana Buddhism idol sculpture appliances and Khmer pottery Around the 16th-18th Buddhist century, some items can be produced by themselves within the community, such as bronze casting and amulet making. while some items must be imported from outside, such as tough glazed earthenware. This shows that there is an increased contact with the outside community. In this era, there may be religious places, as can be seen from the ancient remains of Prasat Kaew or Prasat Prapuet built overlapping.

Early 4 The period from the 19th to 22nd Buddhist century was a time when the Khmer culture declined and the community would have been abandoned for some time. Or there may be a community that lives after the 3rd period, but there is no Khmer culture inheritance. and turned back to live a traditional way of life like an agricultural community. Important ancient monuments in this period are Prasat Kaew or Prasat Phra Puet.

Early 5 Around the 23rd-24th Buddhist century, it was a time when the elephant washing culture flourished in the northeastern region. It is assumed that the indigenous communities in this area are tribute or Kui. therefore adopting a new culture have respect for Theravada Buddhism different from the people in the upper northeastern region Therefore, the temple of Prasat Kaew was built. and the Buddha image is the Phra Puet and the amulet that has been influenced by some Lan Xang to blend with local characteristics has become a local art There are many castles in Surin province that have art in this form.

Early 6 After the fifth settlement, the communities of Ban Phra Puet and Prasat Kaew would have been abandoned for some time. Until a new community with local Khmer culture settled about 200 years ago, Prasat Kaew was converted into a chapel. Set up as Wat Prasat Kaew Until now

Related legend

Ban Phra Puet was originally named Ban Prapuet, which is assumed that the word “Prapuet” may be distorted from the word “Priya Puet”, which is a combination of Khmer and Kui indigenous languages ​​because of the word “Priya”. In Khmer native language, it means “Buddha” and “Puet” in Kui language means “big”.

The word "Baan Prapuek" has been used for a long time. But later it was changed to "House of Phra Puet" to make it easy to call and directly translated from Thai language mixed with native language Kui which is understood to be consistent with the oral legend about village history That has been told for a long time.

From the myths and legends that are the source of House of Phra Puet

Legend 1 A long time ago, someone from Ban Chom Phra Kuay went to dig taro in the forest and licked something on their back. The villager was frightened, so he threw the spade away and the beast ran away. Quickly, he saw a golden-haired deer. (Some say that there was a golden bell tied around his neck) so he ran after him, seeing only the traces of blood. When the traces continue Passed by many villages (such as the Sraeor house) until it was almost noon and stopped to eat. (later named "My House") and follow until “Ban Muang Tee” then the blood stain disappeared in a forest area. He did not give up. Invade through the forest Finally found the castle when he saw the Buddha statue inside He suddenly cried out in surprise, “Pretty! Shut up." He saw the blood seeping from the right Phra Chong (shin) so he believed that the Kwang Thong was this Buddha image.

Prayapuet is a Kuay language meaning Big Buddha. It is believed that this exclamation of the Kuay people is the origin of the name of the village of Phra Puet.

Legend 2 Around 2300 B.E., "Chiang Pum" and "Chiang Pud", two Kuay brothers set up a village in Muang Thi. Later, Chiang Pum helped capture the white elephant and return it to the King of Ayutthaya. until receiving the first Surin lord When the villages became more crowded, Ta Phrom (presumed to be the son of Chiang Puet) brought some of the families to migrate to the area of ​​Prasat Phra Puet. which is the location of the community before Therefore, the present community is likely to be a continuation of the Ta Brahma generation. Its age is probably around 200-250 years old at least, so Ban Phra Puet may also come from the name "Chiang Puet" in another way.