Sema Peam Kre

Sema Peam Kre is a very unique site in the context of the early Angkor located atop Kulen mountain near to and believed to be contemporaneous to the Banteay (Royal Palace) of Mahendraparvata around the 8-9th century. It is a very early Buddhist site featuring upright large carved stone slabs (sema stones) arranged to demarcate a sacred Buddhist space for ritual practice. It is very reminiscent of the Theravadan Buddhist Vihara from the later (13th c on) Angkor era.

Many of the sema stones are still in situ and are quite beautiful. Varying in size, the larger are approx. around 1m high and .7 m wide.

Originally the sema stones (16 in total) were arranged in pairs surrounding the 12 m x 16 m site with only a mound remaining at the center when recorded by Boulbet/Dagens in 1973.

The sema were decorated with either stupa-kumbha or dharmacakra motifs. This style of development and sema stone style and art is believed to have strong connections to the Dvaravati period and what is prevalent across the Khorat Plateau 7-9th century. Beautiful renditions by Boulbet/Dagens provide a clearer picture of the unique artwork

Historical photos from 1973 (Boulbet/Dagens )

In recent times a small shrine has been added on the eastern side of the site

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via [email protected] - more..