The Wat Mahathat is a Buddhist temple ruin located in Ayutthaya, Thailand. It is also known as the “Monastery of the Great Relic.”

According to Architecture of Buddhism, the Wat Mahathat was built during the early Ayutthaya period, around the 14th century. The Supreme Patriarch or the leader of the Thai Buddhist monks used to live here.

This Buddha head in the trunk of a tree is one of the most photographed images inside the temple.

The Wat Mahathat is now one a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The main prang of the temple collapsed in the early 16th century and was restored.

It collapsed again in 1911. Modern restoration of the temple began in the late 1950s.