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Prang Nang Phom Hom is an important ancient monument in Lopburi Province, located in Ban Khok Khli, Nong Ri Subdistrict, Lam Sonthi District, along Highway 205 near kilometer marker 269. Although it is not a large-scale ancient site like those found in Lopburi city, this place holds considerable historical and archaeological value because it is evidence of Khmer artistic influence extending into the Lopburi area, and it also suggests that this area may once have been an important community or ancient town in the past.

 

According to information from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Prang Nang Phom Hom is about 2 kilometers from Nong Ri Market and is located in an area where 2 important waterways meet: Lam Sonthi and Lam Phraya Klang. This type of landscape made the area suitable for ancient settlement in terms of water supply, agriculture, and transportation. For this reason, scholars have proposed that the land around the prang may once have formed part of an ancient town or a small community in earlier times.

 

The main feature of Prang Nang Phom Hom is that it is a single prang standing alone in the middle of the area, built of brick without mortar. This construction style has often led people to compare it with Prang Khaek in Lopburi. The monument is now in a deteriorated condition, with the upper tower completely collapsed, but the lower structure still preserves its original outline quite clearly. There is a doorway through which the interior can be viewed, and inside is a hall in the style of Khmer religious architecture.

 

The doorway frame of the prang is built with large stone blocks, an important feature that helps explain the original architectural form more clearly. Around the monument, large stone pieces and fragments of building materials are still scattered across the ground. These traces suggest that the site once included additional architectural elements and was not simply an isolated prang standing alone as it appears today.

 

Not far from Prang Nang Phom Hom there is also a mound containing a quantity of brick remains, known locally as Khok Khli Noi. It has been suggested that this may once have been the base of a vihara or a chedi. There is also another broad mound called Khok Khli Yai. The presence of the prang, ancient mounds, and old construction materials in the same vicinity strengthens the idea that this area may once have been an ancient town and gives Prang Nang Phom Hom significance beyond that of a solitary ruin in the countryside.

 

The key archaeological evidence associated with Prang Nang Phom Hom comes from excavations carried out in 1987, when fragments of decorative architectural elements made of sandstone were discovered. These pieces depict a female figure wearing cloth in the Bayon style of Khmer art. This evidence confirms clearly that the prang was connected with Khmer artistic traditions and suggests that Prang Nang Phom Hom likely dates to around the 15th-17th Buddhist centuries, corresponding to the period when Khmer influence spread into central Thailand.

 

Bayon-style Khmer art is commonly associated with the era of King Jayavarman VII, one of the most important rulers in the history of the Khmer Empire. Therefore, the discovery of artistic evidence of this kind at Prang Nang Phom Hom makes the site significant as one of the monuments reflecting the cultural and political networks of the ancient Khmer world in Lopburi and along the route linking central Thailand with the northeast.

 

The name Prang Nang Phom Hom itself also carries cultural charm and local memory, as it is connected with the folk tale of Nang Phom Hom, which is known in many parts of Thailand and neighboring regions. Although historical evidence does not directly confirm that the tale is the exact origin of the site’s name, the fact that local people have continued to call it by this name shows that the monument exists not only in the world of archaeology, but also in the world of belief and local memory.

 

The present atmosphere around Prang Nang Phom Hom is quiet and peaceful, surrounded by rural landscapes, rice fields, and small communities. The lack of crowds gives visitors another kind of Lopburi ancient-site experience: one marked by calmness, simplicity, and the feeling of standing amid the traces of the past that still remain in the real landscape, rather than being overshadowed by urban development or dense tourism.

 

In terms of tourism, Prang Nang Phom Hom is particularly suitable for those interested in history, archaeology, and journeys that explore places beyond Lopburi’s main tourist routes. The site offers not only the image of ancient brick ruins, but also the opportunity to understand the wider context of the Lam Sonthi area as a passageway, a connecting route, and a place that once played a meaningful role in ancient cultural networks.

 

Getting There From Lopburi city, travelers can take Highway 205 toward Lam Sonthi District. Upon reaching the area near kilometer marker 269, they will enter Ban Khok Khli, where the monument is located. Reaching the site is more convenient by private car than by public transportation, and many visitors combine the trip with visits to natural attractions and other important places in Lam Sonthi District or nearby areas.

 

For those who want to understand Lopburi beyond its familiar image as the city of monkeys or the old monuments in the historic town center, Prang Nang Phom Hom is a highly interesting destination. It reveals another side of Lopburi as a frontier zone within ancient cultural networks, a place where geography, history, art, and local memory are quietly woven together in a single landscape.

 

 

A: Prang Nang Phom Hom is located at Ban Khok Khli, Moo 2, Nong Ri Subdistrict, Lam Sonthi District, Lopburi Province, near Highway 205 around kilometer marker 269.

 

A: It is a single prang built of brick without mortar. Inside is a hall, and the doorway is framed with stone blocks. Today, the upper section of the tower has already collapsed.

 

A: Scholars believe that Prang Nang Phom Hom dates to around the 15th-17th Buddhist centuries and is associated with Bayon-style Khmer art during the period of King Jayavarman VII’s influence.

 

A: The surrounding area includes ancient mounds known as Khok Khli Noi and Khok Khli Yai, as well as brick remains and ancient materials that support the idea that this area may once have been an ancient town.

 

A: Prang Nang Phom Hom is important evidence of Khmer artistic influence in Lopburi and helps explain the role of the Lam Sonthi area as part of an ancient network of culture and settlement.

 

A: Visitors can drive along Highway 205 toward Lam Sonthi District. When reaching the Ban Khok Khli area near kilometer marker 269, they will find the access route to the ancient monument.