Well removed from the regular tourist and even the local visitor routes, Angkor Thom is hiding some amazingly hidden sites that few have ever seen and even less seem to know about. Located well into the jungle of razor-sharp vines, funnel-web spiders, and nests of wild bees, they have been left seemingly undisturbed for centuries.
Some months ago I started reading about one of the great conservators on Angkor, namely Henri Marchal, and came across a map from the 1900s with an array of sites that no one seemed to know anything about nor appear on any modern maps. That’s where the mystery began.
Angkor Thom, as you’ll likely know, is the ancient city complex near Angkor Wat that over the decades has received millions of tourists from all over the globe, and hundreds of locals visiting on a daily basis, making it hard to believe that there is anything left unexposed or undeveloped.
It’s also a very active religious area, with several monasteries and monks carrying out their daily activities mostly beyond the eyes of those exploring the popular sites in Angkor Thom such as Bayon Temple, Baphoun, Elephant and Leper King Terraces, the Royal Palace, and so on.
Surely, with all that activity, how could there be any kind of mysteries or stones left unturned so to speak? Only one way to find out, and that’s by taking the old French map and going exploring.
The Map
The map itself comes from a long-forgotten publication dating back to 1918 and written by a legend of the early days of the restoration and conservatorship of the ancient Angkor ruins. The writer was Henri Marchal and the publication was “Monuments secondaires et terrasses bouddhiques d’Ańkor Thom”. Written in French, and as the name implies, it speaks only of ‘secondary monuments’ which include Monument 486 (now being restored and named as Western Prasat Top) and Monument 487 (cleared, restored and named as East Prasat Top/Mangalartha) along with the Rong Ta Dev (the drain in the SW wall of Angkor Thom) and around twenty-seven “terraces”.
It’s these terraces that would become the main area of intrigue.
Terrasse Bouddhique
Of these ancient terraces noted by Henri Marchal back in 1918, several are still in use today having been reconstructed over the years including, with Marchal’s naming in brackets, Preah Vihear Pram Pi Lvên (Terrasse Bouddhique No1), Pheah Ang Sang Tuk (Terrasse Bouddhique No2), Preah Ang Khmao (Terrasse M), Preah Ngok (Terrace I), Preah Kôk Thlôk (Terrace II), Preah En Tep (Terrace III), and Preah Si Ar (Terrace IV).
It might be important here to differentiate between terraces as an architectural feature of a larger complex, and ‘Terrasse Bouddhique’ (Buddhist Terrace/Vihara/Prah Vihar) being standalone places of worship typically featuring a long elongated layout on an E-W axis featuring a central idol, in many cases a giant stone Buddha or maybe a bronze Buddha.
Marchal also noted many featuring Chedi and Stupas that are typically used to contain relics or remains of monks.
SO, that’s six of the ancient terraces, how about the 20 others?
Into the Jungle of Angkor Thom
Map in hand and permission granted, it was time to explore and find out whether any of the other twenty sites on Marchal’s map still existed. Most of Angkor Thom surrounding the well-used central axis is actually jungle or semi-dense scrub with only a handful of rarely used foot trails. At first, many places seem impassable unless you had a machete to hack your way through, but after becoming more familiar with the different types of plants’, and relax with the surroundings, a path can generally be found without too much trouble. As hot as it is, and as much as everything wants to snare or bite, the jungle also very makes a very dramatic and beautiful scene in places packed with several beautiful ancient trees.
Speaking of the plants, you certainly witness flora at its most defensive, with sharp thorns and long roaming strands acting like tripwires down low, while up-high, fresh young strands with their sharp thorns wrapping around and soon stop you in your tracks. Spiders abound, funnel webs especially, other kinds include a bush version of the “daddy longlegs” that seem to cluster in large groups and spew out in all directions when disturbed, the most common though is a little fellow who stretches his web between branches leaving one matted in cobweb unless you relocate his lair before passing.
Only one hive of wild bees was seen, up high in the tall trees of the SE quadrant, they radiated out in meter circle and as noisy as a small jet engine. Beautiful to see, but at ground level, the odd scout bee flew by which is reason enough to change course.
The landform is also very interesting, the scrub is so dense that it is hard to get a full view of the layout but there certainly would seem to be some very complex man-made land formations having taken place, including what may be canals and lots and lots of basins.
The Hidden Terraces
I should start by repeating that none of these are on any kind of visitor-friendly route, nor I am recommending visiting them in any way which involves charting a way through spider and thorn infested scrub as mentioned earlier. Adding to that list, very defensive bees in one particular place and the probability of snakes at certain times of the year:).
Highlights of the hidden ‘Buddhist Terraces’
Terrace B
A large sprawling area of sandstone and laterite including numerous sema stones, pedestals, wall remnants, and what appear to be pieces from an earlier temple site.
Terrace C
East of B, it’s around 20 m long and steps down into the basin Trapeang Rondas Thlong. Sema can be seen along with several pedestals.
Terrace D
Quite ruinous with sandstone and laterite sprawling a large radius. Beneath the overgrowth, a platform can be made out. Interestingly, it is noted and appears to have had naga balustrades.
Terrace G & Terrace H
Located very near each other, H appears to only have a laterite wall remaining or platform side while G is a walled area (all in ruin) that featured a smaller terrace.
Terrace 3
A 40 m x 20 m structure formed from sandstone without any ornate decoration.
Terrace 4
A massive terrace, 100 m long in total, formed by shaped sandstone without any decoration. It features two small satellite structures.
Terrace 5 (group)
An expansive area that features a terrace with a possibly intact chedi, a basin, a terrace formed from a 2-3 m hill, another basin, a large terrace with some satellite structures, another basin, and another terrace!
See here for a growing list “Buddhist Terraces” within Angkor.
Who built them and when?
That’s the next mystery, these sites are not like the typical temple sites many are familiar with, featuring large structures and ornate decorations. These are modest, subdued, and with sparse ornate features and differ greatly from sites of the great kings such as Jayavarman VII. Further adding to the mystery is that remnants of those periods of ornate design can often be seen at many of these sites along with modest decorative of a unique design. The structure and features all indicating a great change in thinking and culture, so who were the builders and when?
The Angkor Vihara Project
On further inquiry, the Apsara Authority together with the National University of Toronto, Canada, recently started a research project to clear, excavate, and learn more about several of these sites. The project is led by Dr. Andrew Harris & Dr. Ea Darith. It’s noted that many of these sites are Theravada Buddhism sites and could be related to a transitional period in Khmer culture dating from the 13th to the 17th centuries.
Obviously, that research could have a lot of implications around the way we understand the end of the Angkor era and the Khmer Empire (or the god-king era), cultural changes in religious practice, and perhaps even relations with foreign powers of that time period, notably the Ayutthaya.
Read More: Harris, Andrew. (2019). An Old Ritual Capital, a New Ritual Landscape: Understanding the Transformation of Angkor Thom, Cambodia through the Construction and Placement of Theravāda »Buddhist Terraces«. Medieval Worlds. medieval worlds. 4-62. 10.1553/medievalworlds_no9_2019s4. Read on ResearchGate
Conclusion
Angkor Thom is very much a place alive with the ancient spirit, and, a mystery box that’s a long way from being fully unpacked!
With several amazing sites that are yet to be fully revealed and hopefully one day restored, the history of Angkor, and in particular knowledge of the late Angkorian and Middle Period, is also an unfolding story. This period in Khmer history is still a grey area that’s had little comprehensive research, especially when compared to the height of the Angkor Era.
Of course, at later date, I guess there are also considerations as to how to develop the sites and what role they will play either as a restored and active site of worship and/or as part of the tourist trail. I can imagine they would make quite pleasant and peaceful places, perhaps even a new drawcard to take some of the load of Angkor Wat and Bayon on the restoration of global travel.
One can only wish Dr. Harris & Dr. Ea all the resources they need to reveal another chapter in the amazing history of the Khmer people and world heritage.
I am also left with a great sense of gratitude and respect not only for the Khmer people and this ancient wonderland, but also for the early conservators such as Henri Marchal, the challenges they must have faced, and the outstanding legacy they left behind.
Update October 2022
The Angkor Vihara Project (Dr. Andrew Harris et al)/APSARA has come a long way in the past 18 months or so since this post about my clubfooted adventures in the forests. They have cleared several sites, carried out an excavation on several sites, radiometric and stratigraphic analysis, and so on, with some preliminary research results starting to flow out. This is quite fascinating stuff, filling in the great void between the circa 14th-16th century and connecting the present-day to the ancient remains of Angkor in terms of religious practice and its monuments/architecture. I’ll link to those resources below
- Harris, A., Tina, T., Sreytouch, S. et al. Towards a temporal assessment of Angkor Thom’s Theravada “Buddhist Terrace” archaeology. asian archaeol (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41826-022-00056-y – Available on Springer
- Introduction of Theravada Buddhism to Angkor, Cambodia – Mapping Through the Archaeological Record (2021) – Available on Youtube
- Harris, Andrew. (2019). Angkor Vihara Project 2019 Technical Report. Available on Researchgate
- Harris, Andrew. (2019). An Old Ritual Capital, a New Ritual Landscape: Understanding the Transformation of Angkor Thom, Cambodia through the Construction and Placement of Theravāda »Buddhist Terraces« – Available at Medieval Worlds