Abstract:
Lanna kingdom was formed in 1296 and declined in 1558. In the reign of King Tilokaraj, Lanna reached the golden age. His majesty, Tilokaraj had a faith in Buddhism thus he had built and restored several monasteries in his kingdom for example Wat Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang. Wat Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang was a religious based architecture which played a significant role in Lanna context. According to its significance, the Lanna had created a systematic approach to support the monastery and monastic community. For example, The Religious Based City, Vieng Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang and endowment system which supported the maintenance and conservation of the monastery. But the contemporary conservation practice in Thailand has only focused on the physical conservation of Wat Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang without mentioning their cultural context. In Nara 1994. there was a conference concerning authenticity. Form the conference "Nara Document on Authenticity" was adopted. The text suggests that cultural heritage can be divided in to 2 categories, a tangible expression, an intangible expression and both categories are closely related. From the concept of Nara Document on Authenticity, the relationship of cultural heritage in Vieng Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang Historic City can be considered in to 6 pairs of related elements: the settlement pattern and traditional lifestyle; the cultural landscape and the agricultural system; the rice fields and the monastic land endowment; Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang and the Buddhism belief; the architectures in monastic area and the creativity of Lumpang craftsment family; the traditional house and the traditional building skill. In conclusion the research has established the concepts of tradition based conservation of Vieng Phra Dhatu Lumpang Luang Historic City in accordance with the 6 aspects described above. The conservation concept aims for the reviving of the structural relationship of the cultural heritage to maintain their richness of tangible expression and intangible expression.