Restoration Of Historic Ayutthaya Sites To Cope With Renewed Flood

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Restoration of historic Ayutthaya sites to cope with renewed flood

AYUTTHAYA, Feb 1 – Thailand’s antiquities authorities will speed up restoring the former capital’s historic sites, damaged by last year’s flooding in the city of Ayutthaya, and reinforce weak structures in preparation for possible repeat flooding in the future.

Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome and Somsuda Leeyawanich, director-general of the Fine Arts Department on Tuesday inspected the collapsed wall of the Mahathat Temple. A five-kilometre section of the wall tumbled down during the flood and Ayutthaya’s provincial fines art agency has used wooden staves to prop the remaining sections of wall to prevent further collapse.

The inspection revealed obvious foundation subsidence, restoration of which will make the wall stronger than they were rebuilt last time, the minister said.

More surveying will be done to find any other parts, which could collapse after the historic site was submerged in months-long flooding last year. It is believed there are many spots that need to be restored and strengthened in preparation for possible flooding in the future.

As a light and sound show is scheduled in February, Ayutthaya Governor Wittaya Phewpong said that there will be neither a fireworks presentation nor higher than normal level amplifiers which could cause vibration damage.

Performance of any fight scene that could impact the historic site will be cut off. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-02-01

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Floods expose shoddy restoration at Ayutthaya temples

Pakamard Jaichalard

The Nation

AYUTTHAYA: -- Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome led Fine Arts officials yesterday to inspect the 10metrelong collapsed wall section of Wat Mahathat, located within the World Heritagelisted Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Sukumol said the wall damage was similar to that in several other ancient sites that had been restored 30 years ago. The restoration project then was under budget constraints, leaving the wall hollow and weak. She said the restoration this time would strengthen the wall with gapless brickwork.

Sukumol also instructed the Fine Arts Office 3 in Ayutthaya to inspect other sites restored 30 years ago in case they too could be prone to collapse. The officials would discuss with the Ayutthaya governor if the annual Red Cross Fair 2012, featuring a light and sound show, could affect the World Heritage Site. If so, the risky parts of the show would be cancelled, she said.

As Bt600 million was already allocated for the restoration of ancient sites on Ayutthaya City Island, Sukumol said the Fine Arts Department would rehabilitate the sites and strengthen structures, as well as work on floodprevention measures including canal dredging. She said they would propose an additional budget for the Wat Mahathat wall restoration later.

Fine Arts Department chief Somsuda Leeyawanich said her office would urgently report the Wat Mahathat wall damage to Unesco as well as the 2012 flood damage at the Ayutthaya Historical Park and the Si Satchanalai Historical Park. Special attention would be given to Ayutthaya, which suffered severe damage due to the prolonged flooding.

The department's public works engineering expert, Kittipan Phansuwan, said the wall had several other cracks and subsidence because the previous restoration hadn't strengthened the structure. As a result, a greater risk of watererosion collapse might be found at other ancient sites that underwent the same restoration such as Wat Phra Ram, Wat Mahathat and Wat Ratburana. Wall restoration should involve strengthening the foundations and use of gapless bricks, he said. The Mahathat wall repair will take 20 days.

-- The Nation 2012-02-01

[geriatrickid]

Is it really worth trying to save all of the structures? I am not trying to be a Vandal or Visigoth and encourage the destruction of important structures, just wondering if perhaps it is time to allow the earth to reclaim what it lost. You know, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Buildings do wear out and do disintegrate.

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Culture Ministry worried over impacts of repeated flood on ancient ruins

BANGKOK, 1 February 2012 (NNT) - The Ministry of Culture is concerned that the ancient ruins in Ayutthaya Province may be hit by future flooding and has ordered that the restoration be particularly strong.

Culture Minister Sukamol Kunplome, on Tuesday, joined the Fine Arts Department Director General Soamsuda Leeyawanich on an inspection trip at Wat Mahathat, located within the World Heritagelisted Ayutthaya Historical Park.

Both went to the temple's wall to check on the flood-induced, 10-meter-long collapsed section.

The Fine Arts Department Office in Ayutthaya has installed a number of wooden sticks to prop up the wall to keep it from collapsing further.

Mrs. Sukamol said that the restoration of the damaged ruins must be exceptionally stronger, with all possible risk spots identified and reinforced to prevent future damage.

She added that more attention must be paid to the restoration of all ancient ruins as more flooding is possible in the future.

In addition, the Culture Minister said that Ayutthaya Governor Wittaya Phewpong has agreed with a plan to ban all fireworks, loud sound system, which can cause significant tremor, and any stage arrangement that can have impact on the structure of the ruins; during the upcoming light and sound event.

-- NNT 2012-01-31

[Ricardo]

"Possible flooding in the future"

Surely the current regime have assured Thais and nervous foreign-investors that there will be no more floods in future, thanks to plans for spending sqillions of Baht, on flood-prevention ? Isn't the PM to chair a super-committee whose sole raison-d'etre is to guarantee this ?

[pisico]

All past administrations have done the same thing: floods arrive, destroy, beg Unesco for help, shoddy restoration... until the next flood.

There has never been a comprehensive water management/flood prevention plan implemented in Thailand.

They should have taken a cue from their Khmer cousins. In the year 1540 Angkor Wat was a city state of roughly 1 million inhabitants and had such a plan in place. There is ample archeological evidence of that. All that the powers that be in Thailand would have to do is copy (Thais are good at that) and adapt to this terrain configuration what the Khmer did then.

Oh! Wait! They recently dismissed the Dutch... They shined on the Dutch! What do the Dutch know about floods and reclaiming land from the sea?

I know, the usual Thai apologists will say that those are two different situations, etc. But the reality is that TIT and there is nothing that we can do about it.