The Wat Mahathat is one of the medieval Buddhist temples that comprise the World Heritage site of Ayutthaya, an ancient city steeped in history. It’s home to what is perhaps the city’s most photographed, iconic, and haunting sight: the Buddha head in tree roots. A sandstone Buddha with a mild, merciful smile, the head sits perfectly positioned at the foot of a tall bodhi tree. Its roots, tentacular and vein-like, seem to swallow the Buddha head but fails to shroud its face, as if intentionally avoiding sacrilege. Made in the 1600s,…
