Phnom Kulen Makara

Located around 2km northwest of Beng Mealea Temple on the foothills of Phnom Kulen, is a very unique piece of ancient infrastructure. Around 2020, a local discovered a large sandstone head of a Makara (part lion/part sea creature from Hindu mythology). Recently the site has been excavated and restored revealing it was actually part of an aqueduct that redirected water into a stream that connects with O Thma Dap and fed water into the outer moat of Beng Melea and in turn the grand basin on the east side of the temple.

While it seemingly serves Beng Mealea Temple of the late 12th century, the style of the Makara suggests it’s from a much earlier time giving rise to a question of whether Beng Mealea was built on the location of an earlier site.

I cannot think of anywhere else in the ancient Khmer Empire where such a piece of engineering was employed, except historical notes reporting an aqueduct at Trapeang Khnar Sen Keo. Who knows, perhaps there is much more to be discovered at many sites where the terrain could have employed this kind of water management to benefit the temple and its village.

We visited the site in October 2024 and the restoration works were seemingly still ongoing but near completion. The site has a very special feeling to it and I am sure it’s going to be a very popular destination for locals and visitors alike.

There are some brief notes on the restoration at apsaraauthority.gov.kh

Getting There

There’s a trail that leads north from Wat Toek Lech and past Ta Phou Temple that leads directly to the site.

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..