Preah Theat Khtom Temple

Located atop a small hill surrounded by the farmland plains, this curious ancient site also features a monastery a new pagoda underway and some sculptures already in place.

The central brick temple that remains only partly standing a couple of meters high has the remains of a laterite forebody, all of which is surrounded by laterite blocks that appear to be pillar bases, remains of an enclosure wall, and remains of a further enclosure wall around the perimeter of the hill. It’s not easy to make sense of as there’s not quite enough of it remaining in its original position. Historical notes from the 1990s reveal more, see further below.

An important remain at the site is the inscribed stele registered under K. 110. The monk at the site suggested there are further remains in the flat plains further to the east, the direction the entire site points in.

Historical Notes

Prah Theat Khtom. 1500 meters to west from the hamlet of Khtom, which itself is located 2 kilometers west from the better-known village of Damrel, rises, on a slope of about ten meters, the temple currently known as Prah Theat Khtom.

It includes: 1. A brick sanctuary, open to TE. with front body and nave; 2. A second brick sanctuary; 3. Two enclosures. 4. A terrace (fig. 101)

The sanctuary, square in shape, measuring approximately 6 meters on each side, is still fairly well preserved. The three faces N, W, and S, are decorated with false doors. The door frame in the E. face and the ornamental device are in place, but only roughly sketched.

The nave was made of limonite, connected to the E. face of the sanctuary and to the E. face of the first enclosure by two corridors formed of limonite walls, forming vestibules. These naves are completely ruined. A second brick sanctuary was built in the interior of the first enclosure, to the N. of the main sanctuary. All that remains are shapeless ruins. It was, as much as we can judge in its current state, of very small proportions and not too far (8 meters) from the main sanctuary so that we can assume it must have been part of a group.

These two buildings are enclosed in a double enclosure in limonite, with openings on the east.

The opening of the interior enclosure corresponded with the anti-chamber of the nave. The opening of the outer enclosure is formed by a single passage gopura. These two enclosures are now almost completely razed; the W. and S. sides of the exterior enclosure are still approximately 1 meter high.

Halfway up the hillock, the access route was cut by a perpendicular terrace of which traces still remain. In the nave, next to the entrance to the sanctuary, there is a square stone bearing the inscription. These prints which would be those of the Srei Krup Leak have o m. 23 in length by o m. og width. The monument is completely abandoned and looted by neighboring pagodas.

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, 1902, E. Lajonquiere

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap. Rodney Charles L'Huillier has spent over seven years in Cambodia and is the author of Ancient Cambodia (2024) and Essential Siem Reap (2017, 2019). Contact via [email protected] - more..