Later on, Rama IV built a small chedi housing a Buddha relic on top of the mud and brick mound. The pagoda was rebuilt again towards the end of the nineteenth century by his son Rama V when the Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon, made a gift of a Buddha relic excavated from the town where Buddha was believed to have been born. The concrete cap was built during WW II to keep the artificial hill from eroding further.
Graves on the slopes of the Golden Mount. Click to enlarge
Although the top of the mount has been encased in concrete, the base is still a jumble of bricks and plaster overgrown with trees and bushes. Somewhat curiously, in amongst the vegetation around the base are numerous shrines to departed people. This "graveyard" of sorts includes everything from small plaques to large shrines with Buddha images.