The Sema City plan, which is egg-shaped, covers an area that is 3 kilometers wide and 4 kilometers long. The city was built around the 12th Buddhist century, flourished during the Dvaravati period and grew until the 16th-17th Buddhist centuries when it came under Khmer influence. Visitors can still see evidence of city moats, earth walls, laterite and sandstone ruins and numerous artifacts. The most interesting ones are the reclining sandstone Buddha image and an old religious relic that is now in Wat Thammachak Semaram.

Wat Sala Loi

Situated 500 meters east of the northeastern corner of the moat, from Rop Mueang Road, the temple is famous for its “bot” (preaching hall) which resembles a Chinese sailing junk. That is why the monastery got its name Wat Sala Loi, which means the temple of the floating pavilion. The bot was awarded the best avant-grade religious building by the Siam Society in 1973. Additional attractions are a large white standing Buddha enshrined inside the temple and a plaster sculpture of Thao Suranari, sitting in a praying position in the middle of a pond in front of the door.