Khok Mai Den Ancient City

Khok Mai Den is a Dvaravati-period walled city dating to roughly 457-957 AD, in Tha Nam Oi subdistrict of Nakhon Sawan’s Phayuha Khiri district. Almost nothing stands above ground today beyond stretches of the old earthen city wall, but the site was significant enough that British archaeologist H.G. Quaritch Wales spotted its outline in aerial photographs taken during the Second World War — ground surveys confirmed the find in 1963.

Locals originally called the settlement Ban Khok Mai Den Muang Bon, taking its name from an indigenous tree once common on the mound. Excavations that began in 1964 uncovered 16 stupa bases scattered across the site’s low hills, along with Dvaravati-era brick fragments, clay Buddha images, and votive tablets inscribed in Pallava script — evidence of a settlement in active use centuries before Sukhothai or Ayutthaya existed. Two of the excavated stupa foundations remain visible near the temple entrance today.

The best-known artefact is a stone sculpture of Phaya Chattan, the six-tusked elephant king from the Chaddanta Jataka, one of the Buddha’s past-life stories, unearthed by the Fine Arts Department and now kept at the site. It’s the closest thing to a museum piece here — there’s no exhibition hall, and what draws visitors is walking the low earthworks and picturing the scale of a settlement roughly a thousand years old. The wall lines resemble those of other Dvaravati settlements in the region, including Nakhon Pathom and Muang Sema near Korat.

Insider Tip: There’s little shade and no facilities on site, so bring water and go earlier in the day. Pair the stop with other Dvaravati-era sites in the province — Wesalee Ancient City in Phaisali district and the Chan Sen Museum in Takhli both cover the same period if you want the wider picture of Nakhon Sawan’s ancient settlements.

The ruins sit about 32km from Nakhon Sawan city on the old Nakhon Sawan-Bangkok road (Highway 1, the Asian Highway) — turn off and continue roughly 3km to reach them. Modern Highway 1 now cuts through the middle of the old city, splitting it in two: the inner-city remains lie on the Bangkok side, while the outer wall and hills sit on the opposite side within the grounds of Wat Khok Mai Den. Entry is free, and the site is open daily from 08:00 to 17:00.