The Fruit-Shaped Tower : Ancient City Bangkok

The Fruit-Shaped Tower (Prang Mafueang), Chai Nat
This prang has a tower shaped like a carambola, a fruit know in Thai as mafueang, was popular during the pre-Ayutthaya periods, namely U-Thong Art and Ayothaya Art. The structure, about 12 meters wide and 20 meters tall, was made of brick without bonded plaster. It is recognised as the late U-Thong architectural style which is dated around the 13th century A.D.
The fruit-shaped prang is modeled after the smaller prang in front of the assembly hall or wihan of Wat Maha That, Sankhaburi in Chai Nat. Special techniques were used to build the prang. Al though plaster, which was used only to cover the prang but not to bond the bricks, has fallen away, the tower remains in perfect condition. This techniques cannot be duplicated even today. There is another tower in this style at Wat Maha That in Lop Buri.
The tower has 28 re-entrant angles each of which carries stucco motif of deities with palms pressed together. They are supposed to represent 28 constellations according to Mahayana scripture (while Hinayana scripture says there are only 27). The number of angles of each tower can be varied; some of them have 32 reduced re-entrant angles which represent the thirty-two parts of human body. These angles, in some way, have some bearing on Bud dhist beliefs and the mundane world.