Prasat Prei Monti ប្រាសាទ​ព្រៃមន្ទីរ - 9th Century Khmer Temple - Roluos Group Siem Reap Cambodia

Prasat Prei Monti ប្រាសាទ​ព្រៃមន្ទីរ

When you first see the 3 mostly ruined brick towers they are unremarkable. The site itself is very impressive in size.

Traces of an exterior moat with an eastern entrance causeway enclose an area of some 500m x 800m. The area now is a mix of forest and farmland but during the 9th century would have contained a large number of wooden constructions as well as inhabitants.

Although the temple was possibly started during the reign of Jayavarman II Prei Monti was maybe the site of Jayavarman III's palace and capital.

The towers themselves are east facing and due to poor condition little or no decoration can be seen. A lintel with Indra on Airavata lies nearby. There is also an unusual feature is of a 3m x 2m sandstone basin. The locals say this used to be the King's bathtub. The structure it was once in is completely gone so it’s up for speculation as to its use.

The site is in the Roluos group of temples. Roluos រលួស is a Cambodian archeological site about 13 km east of Siem Reap. Once it was the seat of Hariharalaya, the first capital of Khmer Empire north of Tonlé Sap (as the first capital in the strict sense of the term could have been Indrapura, identifiable with Banteay Prey Nokor.

Among the "Roluos Group" of temples there are some of the earliest permanent structures built by Khmer. They mark the beginning of classical period of Khmer civilization, dating from the late 9th century. Some were totally built with bricks, others partially with laterite or sandstone (the first large Angkorian temple built with sandstone was possibly Ta Keo).

At present it is composed by three major temples: Bakong, Lolei, and Preah Ko, along with the smaller Prasat Prei Monti. At both Bakong and Lolei there are modern buddhist monasteries.

The site is difficult to reach and is not the best site in the area. It has more of a historical significance than awe inspiring temple buildings. Half the fun was exploring the area by motorcycle which I show at the start.

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