The stone head of a decapitated Buddha statue is gripped in the roots of a strangler fig (Ficus religiosa), similar to the banyan tree, in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya. The city was destroyed by invading Burmese armies in 1767 and was abandoned. This Buddha image was one of many in the principal temple, Wat Mahathat — the Burmese spared nothing, not even the religious buildings and icons..