Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand for 417 years and was destroyed by the Burmese in 1767. What was left are the numerous magnificent ruins of the old capital and also a large number of ancient art objects. In 1956-1975, most of the temples and monuments have been explored and excavated by the Fine Arts Department. It has resulted in the discovery of a great number of art and antique objects. So the Fine Arts Department organized the sale of the Buddhist votive tablets found at Wat Ratchaburana and the proceeds were used to build a museum to house those national treasures. The museum was named "Chao Sam Phraya National Museum" to commemorate King Borommaracha II (Chao Sam Phraya) who built Wat Ratchaburana in 1424. On December 26th , 1961. Their Majesties the King and the Queen presided over the inauguration ceremony of the first building of the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum, and the opening ceremony of the second building was presided over by The Minister of Education on January 30th , 1970.