Don An Temple

Located on contemporary monastery grounds are the remains of a sandstone temple that creates a real curious puzzle for its rearrangement is extensive. Entering the monastery, you will immediately see some interesting sema, pedestals lining the way, with a decorated door column, and part of the temple crown.

Look to the right, a rectangular area containing modern sculptures of the 12 animals fronted by two elephants all of which is demarcated/bordered with stones from the ancient temple.

Keep going past the pagoda, noticing the moat, and here the remaining blocks from the temple have been recycled to encase the base of a small prayer hall that contains a small statue (modern) on an ancient pedestal. The artwork deserves some special attention also, some pieces show a slightly free hand in the shaping of common pattern work.

But wait, there are more elephants. These two standing in front of a great unshaped pile of stone.

The site is located around 35 km to the east of Pursat and the roads to reach the site are in good condition (bar roadworks on the highway 03/02/22) – Located near here is Prasat Bakan.

Historical Notes

Pràsàt Dön An. We find 8 kilometers east a little south of Svày Dón Kèv, the remains of a large monument. It consisted, as far as we can see today, that time has almost completed to ruin and the forest to invade

I. of a central building

II. of various surrounding buildings

III. two concentric enclosures.

1.- The main building rises in the western part of the enclosures; it seems to be composed of the union of a tower and a room, and it would not be impossible that it presented the so curious plan of Tåp Čei (296). All that remains of the tower are the south and east bays and part of the floors of the south wall. They are decorated in the classic motif of the false niche with a low wavy pediment. The arch encloses seated figures. Others wear these thin garlands with many tiny elements which we noted in the bas-reliefs of Bantay Čhmàr and which we have since found in various points, notably at Bàyon.

The clearest remains are those of a square room with three or four doors, irregularly pierced; it rose to the south of the great tower. West are the traces of a laterite gopura.

III. The inner enclosure appears to be nearly 200 meters in length: basins separated it from the outer enclosure, larger and higher, and which appears to have been preceded by a ditch. But this is all quite problematic

Complément à l’inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, 1913, Henri Parmentier

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..