Phimai Historical Park

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blocks, used to crush herbs for medicinal purposes, were found here).

The temple site is entered through the well-maintained south gate in the second encircling wall. The outer courtyard was embellished at all four corners by large ponds; only ruins remain of their stone walls. They symbolized India's four holy rivers and contained rainwater, used to pour on the lingams (phallic symbols of the Hindu god Shiva) and other holy figures.

The two buildings constructed from laterite and sandstone close to the west gate were also built at the time of King Jayavarman VII and probably served as a library or provided accommodation for the Khmer kings. Remains of a terrace, on which a wooden building certainly once stood, can be seen on the right of the south gate. Some of the stone reliefs, no longer safe to be left in their original positions because of the danger of collapse, are displayed on it.

The 12th c. gallery's four gates, which point in all four directions of the compass, were laid out in the shape of a cross and stood, as did the porticos, on strong square pillars, which partially remain. On the left of the 5504 sq. m (59,245 sq. ft) inner courtyard stands prang Hin Daeng, built from red sandstone, a little further on a building (probably a treasure chamber or a library) designated as a Hindu shrine, and on the right Prang Meru Boromathat, constructed from laterite. An extraordinarily beautiful statue of King Jayavarman VII found in this prang is now displayed in Bangkok's National Museum.