ayutthaya had constructed a large number of monuments in the capital,which had totally been destroyed by the burmese invasion in 1767.the geographical situation of ayutthaya was extremely appropriate,an island in the middle of three rivers,chao praya,pasak and lopburi. therefore, ayutthaya had been easily defendable from the invading enemies.the island capital of ayutthaya had also been the maritime as well as inland trade centre.naturally,ayutthaya became affluent and powerfu,and the prosperity the kingdom had enjoyed can be seen not only in the abundant artifacts and archaeological remains,but also from the records made by the european envoye,traders and missionaries, especially those visited the legendary ayutthaya in the late 17 th century.remnants of ancient monuments appear in and around the island.a survery of the area has located more than 200 such monument.the earliest renovation attempt of ayutthaya was made during the reign of king chulalongkorn who had phraya boran ratchathanin renovate some of the throne halls in the deteriorated grand palace site.the site then was covered with broken bricks and mortar fragments which had been there for more than a century.in the following period under the goverment of field marshal pibul songram,the fine arts department continued the renovation project for more buildings in the palace site and for some important wats.since 1969 a number of officers from the fine arts department have stayed in ayutthaya to conduct project of survery and conservation of the archaeological monuments in the area.