Prakhon Chai - Wat Prasat Phanom Rung
|
|
Together with the ruined town of Phimai, Wat Prasat Phanom Rung, an important station and place of worship on the route between Angkor Wat, the main town of the empire in present-day Cambodia, and Phimai is one of Thailand's most important Khmer buildings. The access road to the wat (signposted) turns off southwards from Highway 24 at the village of Ban Ta Ko approximately 18 km (11 mi.) east of the junction of Highway 218 (from Buriram). If traveling by bus go from Buriram to Nang Rong, then to Ban Ta Ko station on Highway 24, from there use pick-up taxis. The wat lies on the summit of a 158 m (519 ft) hill, from where there is a view across the plain in the north and the densely wooded mountain slopes in the south.
The geometric layout bears witness to a powerful desire of the Khmer architects to create a prestigious image. A 12-m (39-ft) wide flight of stone steps and a road lined with stone pillars leads from a U-shaped building called Rung Chang Puak (Stall of the White Elephant), some of whose walls are still standing, to another monumental flight of steps articulated by half-landings and ornamented with nagas (heads in the early Angkor Wat style). These steps and the right-hand corner of the wall, which surrounds the site, were probably not added until later, in the 12th c., under the Burmese king Suryavarman II. Note the sculptures at the entrance, which depict scenes from Hindu mythology.
The geometric layout bears witness to a powerful desire of the Khmer architects to create a prestigious image. A 12-m (39-ft) wide flight of stone steps and a road lined with stone pillars leads from a U-shaped building called Rung Chang Puak (Stall of the White Elephant), some of whose walls are still standing, to another monumental flight of steps articulated by half-landings and ornamented with nagas (heads in the early Angkor Wat style). These steps and the right-hand corner of the wall, which surrounds the site, were probably not added until later, in the 12th c., under the Burmese king Suryavarman II. Note the sculptures at the entrance, which depict scenes from Hindu mythology.
Read More
Read Less
Read More
