At Phnom Bakheng

Mountain Temple

Viewing Angkor Wat towers from Phnom Bakheng

                Phnom Bakheng was built in the late 9th to early 10th century when King Yasovarian decided to move the Capital from Roluos to nearby Angkor.  Angkor being the town in which the famous temple Angkor Wat was built, about 100 years after Phnom Bakheng.  He built Phnom Bakheng(PB) as a state temple.  It is uniquely on a hill, only about 200 feet high, but giving a clear view of the surroundings.  Barely seen in the photo from the top are the towers of Angkor Wat, nearly a mile away.  It is a favorite tourist spot for viewing sunset, which is also a conservation risk for the temple.

                The builders cleared the soil on top of the mountain, about 20%, so that the temple sits upon a plateau of solid rock foundation. 

Central Temple at Phnom Bakheng

                If we can imagine a magnificent stone stairway from the base of the mountain at the East, ending at the plateau and a wide stone walkway, possibly ¼ mile from the stairway to the base  of the central shrine.  As you walk the path, the central monument becomes larger.  From a gray tower, we begin to discern details of five tiers of the tower, each with many stone towers topped by a temple, with five towers, and when close quite an imposing building with grand stair to the top.  Each level is guarded by a pair of lions. 

                At the base of the central temple they also built 44 brick shrines.  A total of 108 shrines at the site. 

It is considered that the Phnom Bakheng represents Mt. Meru, the sacred Hindu mountain and that their was much thought about numeric symbolism in the design and number of towers.

Collapsed Brick Shrine, foreground. Backgound stone shrines at each level of the Central Temple

Alas, my imagination is strong, but the reality is that time and local conditions have taken their toll on the structures.  Cambodia is quite wet and constant torrential rains generate powerful run off which undermines building structures,  plant growth has invaded buildings and destroyed structures but also in cases is the main support of the structure, insects, particularly termites invade buildings and build their mounds which after time become supporting structures for buildings. Since 2008  the World Monuments Fund has been responsible for guiding restoration of the site. 

Much restoration is to be done, yet what should be the priority.  The central temple is most significant, but also requires a large team and many years.  It was decided that the 44 brick shrines would be a focus.  Within the context of restoration, the brick shrines incorporate many of the building materials used at PB, laterite bricks as foundation material, sandstone as facing and protective material and low fire bricks, the main constituent of the brick shrines.

Brick Temple at Phnom Bakheng - G13. Shoring needed to prevent collapse.

In various states of condition, 20 of the 44 had totally collapsed, but they had chosen two, labelled G5 and G10 as requiring immediate attention.  We can see the reconstructed shrines in the photos.  It is not the aim of conservation to build beyond the available information and materials.  It is not a Disney park, but rather a goal of conserving what is from available materials, which is why observes may see the work as incomplete, but we see an archeological honest representation    

(Note:  I am writing as an observed, I am not a trained conservator.  Any and all errors are mine and not the representation of the WMF.)

Brick Temple At Phnom Bakheng - G5. A successful conservation.