To introduce Cambodia’s ancient Royal Road network to those not familiar with it, there are several roads emanating out of Angkor that feature stone masonry infrastructure, including bridges and temples along with ponds and basins primarily dating back to the 12th century, with a broad range of activity seen between the 11th century to around the 14/15th century at least.
There is the East Road that leads to Beng Mealea and Preah Khan of Kampong Svay; the Southeast Road that leads to Kampong Kdei and Prasat Andet; the Northwest Road that leads past Banteay Chhmar and to Phimai (in present-day Thailand); and the West Road that led to Phnom Srok and Sdak Kok Thom (in present-day Thailand). A fifth road branches off the East Road at Beng Mealea and leads to Wat Phu (in present-day Laos), and a sixth road that is noted by researchers and is said to have once led from the Angkor area to Sambor Prei Kuk. A sixth road is noted as joining Angkor to Kulen and to Beng Mealea, hypothesised to be quarry labourers route.
Further to these are the roads that would have been necessary to connect everyday life, travellers and traders to temples and villages, as well as interregional routes, although none were developed to the same extent as what have been labelled in contemporary times as the Royal Roads. The use of wooden bridges, long perished, is often suggested, and on a trip to Oddar Meanchey, locals there remember a seemingly special wooden bridge that connected a road leading to Banteay Chhmar.
We recently revisited the ancient route that led from Angkor of Siem Reap to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay in Preah Vihear province. It’s a route that we have toured in full and in part many times (notably here, here, here, and here), visiting the temples and stone bridges that line this section, which is referred to as the East Road of the ancient Royal Road network. Along this route, there are over 40 temples and masonry bridges.
Overdue for a break away from regular duties, with some cool weather setting in and a long stretch without rain, it seemed like the right time to revisit the route. I was keen to see what’s changed in the past year and check out a couple of sites not visited on previous tours. In this post, I’ll recap that most recent journey combined with those previous and bring together a more complete overview of the entire ancient road.
What makes this section of the ancient road network so charming and attractive is that it is the only section that is mostly intact, allowing an adventure from start to finish, following its original route of around 8-900 years ago. Other routes have unfortunately been fractured by contemporary development, and none have the density of ancient infrastructure that survives along this route. Moreover, it is the only section that features a specific type of temple that the early French researchers would call “Temples d’etape” which we’ll come to in more detail a little later.
The Map
This map features all the recorded sites along this route that we have visited between 2021-2024, and the GPS trail from this latest tour.
The Journey
The roads and trails that follow the ancient route from Angkor to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay (PKKS) are only around 95 km in length, yet it is a multi-day journey when adding time to visit (and in many cases locate) each temple and structure and the extra time needed for the very last leg which we’ll come to. In the past, I’d broken this up into several different trips, Angkor to Beng Melea and Beng Mealea to PKKS, but still found it difficult to visit all the sites and make it to a guesthouse or campsite before nightfall. This was especially the case with the sites located between Khvav and PKKS due to the terrain. So, on past trips, for the temples near PKKS, such as Prasat Chambok, we’d camp on the temple grounds of PKKS (with permission), and for those near Khvav, we’d stay at the guesthouse in the village.
For this trip, with knowledge from prior trips, we’d try to visit all the sites once more, this time in one trip over two days, returning to Siem Reap on the third.
Angkor to Beng Mealea
We’d begin our journey at Wat Banteay Kbal Chen, which sits south of the ancient road just west of the junction where the old road from the Angkor Wat area and the old road from Banteay Samre would meet. Wat Banteay Kbal Chen, recorded by Lajonquiere in the 1900s as a partially standing brick temple, seemingly uncompleted due to a lack of decorative relief work in its pediments and lintels. It retains some decorated colonettes that connect it with the late 10th or early 11th century by style, indicating it predates the structures we’ll see further along the ancient road.
There is a bridge recorded north of this temple, and after some exploring, we found a collection of laterite blocks. Later, when we met a local elder, he said the bridge had collapsed long ago, with much of it carried away. One km to the east is an intact bridge, Spean Thma Stoeng Tok, which is no longer in use.
The next stop is Chau Srei Vibol, an especially charming and somewhat unique temple for its outer wall enclosing a small hilltop temple that shares some characteristics with the “Temples d’etape” which we’ll come to a little later in more detail. Continuing east, at the Samraong Village school there is a small neak ta shelter housing sandstone fragments (less than what it did in 2022), one of which has a small Dvarapala carving. A little further along is a new Buddha Stupa that’s nearing completion after several years of construction.
The next stop is Banteay Ampil, which sits on the north side of the ancient road with two bridges, Spean Bay Kriem & Spean Thma Bay Kriem, both of which are no longer in use and located on the south side of the present-day road. Banteay Ampil temple features a layout identical to the “Temples d’etape”.
Banteay Ampil temple is preceded on its west side by the remnants of a temple (Prasat Lic) that appears to date to the late 10th or 11th century, another on its east side, which has no record other than being a mound, and another two to the south. One of those to the south appears to have been a brick temple with a Brahmanic pedestal seen, while the other has remnants of a 13th-century Bayon-era temple. Interstingly, Jean Boulbert’s map from 1975 has incorrectly mapped Banteay Ampil some way to the west, but had a marker for another temple to the northeast which may be worth investigating one day.
Continuing along, this road is now being upgraded and sealed, which will open up this route to more travellers and create a faster way to Beng Mealea temple following a traditional route.
The next stop is a new development, Trapeang Khnach Ropeak, a kind of Buddhist park that houses several remnants of an ancient temple, including a very unique linga. No one there, on three visits now, knows where the remnants originate from, but they seem to have found a safe place at least.
Next is an important heritage site, Wat Preah Bat Buon Than, which features a natural spring and rock carvings of double-pada (feet) and Vishnu anantasayin. The monastery also houses early sandstone sema similar to those of the post-14th century found in Angkor. Around 1 km to the east and north of the modern-day road is another small laterite bridge hiding in the shrub. The modern-day road and the old road separate paths here and across the plains to the northeast, and around 500m north of the ancient road’s path is Russei Chhlop Temple, featuring the remains of a seemingly uncompleted brick temple.
The modern-day road and old road shortly return to running parallel to each other as we continue along Road 64 towards Beng Mealea. To the north of this modern-day sealed road, there is Spean Khmeng (Koul Thmei). To the northeast of that and 400m or so north of where the old road is Roeu temple, the remains of a circa 10/11th-century brick temple. A little further east, Sam Yot temple features the remains of a circa 11th-century sandstone temple that featured a large basin which, according to researchers, the old road followed its perimeter.
The modern-day road cuts directly through the basin of Sam Yot on a northeast angle, while the old road takes a slightly more easterly direction. The old road is unused and somewhat untouched, still preserving its earthen rise, which leads to Spean Trapeang Ruessei. From there it would have led onward to the area of Kap Chen temple, likely dating to around the late 11th century. Kap Chen is overgrown, and I couldn’t make it what layout it may have had originally.
The old road is assumed to head north, where there is a small ancient bridge, Spean Khmeng, that has been sealed over and forms part of the modern-day road as it heads into Beng Mealea. There is also the appearance of a raised road/levee, around 50m wide, that heads east from Kap Chen and then north to the southwest corner of Beng Mealea. Notably, south of this L section of road from Kap Chen to Beng Mealea are four symmetrically aligned basins that are somewhat unusual.
While Beng Mealea Temple dates back to the 12th century, its grounds contain Kansaeng Temple, the first Firehouse outside of Angkor along this route (if we exclude the remains seen south of Banteay Ampil), which is largely attributed to the later Jayavarman VII era. The ancient road splits here, with a route heading towards Svay Leu and onwards past Koh Ker to Neak Buos and onward to Wat Phu, while the East Road continues along the southern edge of Beng Mealea. South of the road is Chrei temple, one of “Temples d’etape”. North of the road is a very unusual temple, Kong Pluk Temple, which features a grand pyramidal stepped base and a massive north-facing terrace that likely dates back to around the 12th century. Whilst the latter appears unrelated to the ancient road, it is such a curiosity that it’s impossible not to mention.
By the time we grabbed something to eat at the stalls by Beng Mealea and finished up at Chei temple, it was getting close to 4 pm. In hindsight, it would have been better to stop here and make use of the guesthouse in Svay Leu and continue the next morning. But alas, we kept going.
Beng Mealea to Prasat Pram (Khvao)
From Beng Mealea to Khvav village (or Khvao), it is around 28 km, and there is no sign or word among the locals as to whether the road here will be upgraded, like the Angkor-Beng Mealea section. Presently, it’s a dirt road, and on the numerous times we have passed this section, it’s always been kept in good condition.
Heading eastward, there are three small bridges recorded, the first of which I have not seen, perhaps buried, whilst Spean Yaypon and Spean Toap Chey are visible and still in use to this day. South of the later bridge is Toap Chey and Toap Chey Thom temple. Torp Chey is another Firehouse to the west of which is Torp Chey Thom, one of the Temples d’etape. The larger area of the Torp Chey site is quite significant as it is where the largest kiln in Southeast Asia was discovered among a series of kiln sites. According to excavations, these kiln sites primarily produced Angkorian brown-glazed stoneware, including jars, roof tiles, and animal figurines and were active between the 12th–14th/15th centuries (Darith, 2015).
On the last visit here in 2021, the temple was almost completely overgrown, and on this visit, it seems like it has recently been cleared, perhaps a month or two prior to our visit and what an amazing sight it is now. We were lucky enough to have three local youngsters as our guides around their temple, and we say thanks to them once again.
A little further down the road is Wat Toap Chey which retains remnants, including a circa 11th-century naga finial, boundary marker and road marker. The boundary marker is most interesting, similar to those seen in Preah Vihear and something I’ll come back to in a future post. A little further along and north of the road is Wat Kambao Or, which retains several ancient road markers.
Next stop is Spean Khmeng, which is a larger bridge at 35m long, and a further 800m along is one of the grand highlights of this section, Spean Ta Ong. At 63m long, it is the third longest of the surviving ancient bridges. It was almost dark by the time we reached here, around 5.40 pm, but luckily, Khvav was only 8 km away. We’d stay the night there in the one and only guesthouse of the village, which is basic but clean and quiet with AC for $12.
In the morning, we went to our regular place for Bai Sach Chrouk, and then we backtracked and headed west and back to Spean Ta Ong as I really wanted to get some photos with the drone. From there, we headed back east and to Ta En temple, another Firehouse. It has also recently been cleared. Around 4km to the northwest of Ta En temple is another temple that doesn’t appear in older French-era inventories. It’s a laterite-walled site that is presently uncleared. It has mostly collapsed and may turn out to be similar to Phnom Banteay dating back to around the 10th or 11th century. No one was sure about the temple’s name, so we’ll use the name of the mountain whose step it occupies, Khtum Temple. Laterite is abundant throughout this area, and two spots show signs of quarrying and interesting wheel ruts; more here.
Around 500 m to the southeast of Ta En temple and on the south side of the road is Pram temple, another of the Temples d’etape. It has also recently been cleared and looks quite incredible, as the overgrowth had amazingly protected the sandstone so well that it all looks like new stone. Like the other Temples tape, Pram features a long and grand entrance terrace, although here, the bollards are unique in style. I didn’t see these last time and now I understand where the “sema” stones of the nearby Wat Chas came from.
After that, it was back to Khvav for some lunch; this time, it was Khmer noodles here, and they were excellently refreshing. We filled up with fuel, stocked up with water and began the next leg. It was around 11.00 am now, and that’s way later than I’d hoped to start this leg.
Prasat Pram (Khvao) to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay
From the area of Pram temple, or Khvav village, it is only 27 km to PKKS and 34 km to the centre of Ta Seng village. On the first time doing this leg, on an old Yamaha scooter, it was still way too early in the season and flooded in parts. It took over 7 hours. The second time, on a Honda and with a bit more knowledge, and in the dry season, it took around five hours. On two more trips, we only went part way and back again, visiting the temples from either end. This time we’d try to do it in one go, visiting the temples and making it to PKKS before dusk.
The first stop was Spean Khvav, which is still in use and has been cleared. A little further along is Spean Tradev, still in use, which is seemingly where the clearance works end as it was well overgrown. There’s a small neak ta shelter here preserving fragments of pesani, two small sculptures. One is a small meditating Buddha, and a female character, similarly seated, which is an unusual figure. One wonders where they originated from. A little further along, and no longer in use, is Spean Phum O and likewise with Spean Ron Tadev.
Further along is the junction where one road heads northeast to Wat Peung and across to Khnar temple. Wat Peung is a special site housing an incredible collection of ancient temple remnants that I’d visited previously, but I have not yet been to Khnar temple and was told by the monks there to dedicate a day in the dry season for that trip. We’d keep on going east and following the East Road, where there are remnants of a buried bridge. A little further along, the road starts to decay from here on in.
The next temple, Phnom Banteay temple, is located south of the old road. It predates the other temples along this route and maybe also the bridges that we see. It has a laterite outer enclosure that opens to the east and inside remnants of a square brick shrine with a long laterite forebody that’s flanked by library. You can get the moto reasonably close to the temple, but a short hike up the mountain is needed. To save time, I decided not to revisit this time. A little further east is another bridge, Spean Rolom Ta Cet, which was still in use on the 2021 visit, and thankfully, as noticed on our prior trips, it’s now been bypassed.
It was already 2 pm by this point, and there was little chance of having enough time to revisit the temples and get to PKKS before dusk. We don’t mind camping, but without any clear water for a swim, it’s not so inviting, so we kept on going. A further 1km along, the next bridge sits to the north of the present-day trail, and it is no longer in use.
A further two km along is the Siem Reap Preah Vihear border, and a little further is another recorded bridge, but after a short walk around, which is sketchy as there are no trails whatsoever, I have not found it again. A little further along and located on the north side of the road is Supheap Cheung Temple, which is recorded as a Firehouse of the 12th-13th century. South of the road is Supheap Tbong Temple, another the Temples d’etape related to the 12th century. It features a long grand bollard-lined terrace (in ruin), but in this case, like Chrei temple, it leads north from the temple to meet with the ancient road. On our last visit, the trail to this site was clear, yet it has overgrown once again.
Sadly, the present-day trail heads north while the ancient road, without a reasonable trail, heads southeast. Apart from basins as seen on Google Earth, there are no recorded structures until the present-day trail eventually starts heading southeast again and meets with the ancient road, where there are two more recorded bridges. The light was fading, around 4.00 pm by now, and there was no time left to go searching for the two bridges.
There are two more recorded bridges near Toek Khuob temple and the very special Trapeang Chambak temple, which is the final of the Temples d’etape. Of all the temples so far, the latter is the most closely aligned to the Angkor Wat style, so much so that it features almost identical reliefs of Apsara. These are located 600m or so south of this trail, and we visited those in early 2023. We were out of time to revisit them as we’d made it to the back entrance of PKKS by around 5.20 pm, and the day was done.
To put things in perspective, that last 7km, without stopping, took well over an hour. The trail is slow going and not much more than tractor ruts in most places, followed by loose sand and heavily overgrown sections hiding deeper tractor ruts.
We dropped by the police officers’ hut and then went and set up camp in the shelter by the baray of PKKS. After lighting a fire, chowing down on some instant noodles, and a quick swim in the baray, it was a peaceful night’s sleep in the hammocks.
The next day, we met the local police officer who told us recently they had a big group from the Angkor Marathon stay over at the temple and four guys on bikes that had come through from Khvav and went on to Kulen mountain. We’d grab some breakfast in Ta Seng village and roam around Preah Thkol temple and then take a quick look at Prasat Vien, Preah Chatomukh, Preah Stoeng, and relevant to our journey along the ancient road, Kdak temple (more below), and Kuk temple, which is the Firehouse on the grounds of PKKS.
It was 11.30 by that time, and we had to be back in Siem Reap that night. Something amazing to see was that the road in Ta Seng village has recently been sealed, and the horrible road to Stoung has been graded, making for an easygoing ride. As this road crosses into Kampong Thom, it is sealed all the way to Road 6. Let’s hope it gets sealed all the way. Going the Stoung and Road 6 route back to Siem Reap took around 5 hours and was uneventful, although there is plenty along that route, see the Southeast Royal Road.
Reflections
There are several takeaways from this journey, one of which is that two days from Angkor to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay is not enough. A better option is to spend one day from Angkor to Beng Mealea, another day from Beng Mealea to Khvav Village, and then a full day from there to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay. This would allow enough time to visit all the temples and major bridges without too much stress.
Another takeaway for me on this tour was how I connected more with the 11th century than I had on previous trips. There’s probably a lot of room to explore that topic further. Adding to that was the Thervadin Buddhist activity noted by the sightings of 14th-century style sema and leaf-shaped sema of what I assume are of a later era.
A third takeaway is the scale of ceramics production along this route, in particular, surrounding the Torp Chey area. Whilst not something that can be witnessed (as yet) when combined with the research discoveries around ironworks in PKKS, it could also be concluded that this was also an important trade/supply/manufacturing route spanning several centuries.
The fourth takeaway is that there is still plenty of exploring to do along this route, including some of those basins and revisiting some of the temple sites closer to PKKS, especially if they get cleared, as has taken place at Torp Chey and Pram.
Also notable are the road upgrades taking place from Banteay Ampil to Beng Mealea, and the hope is that the Khvav village to Preah Khan of Kampong Svay might also be developed. If so, the entirety of this ancient route will be made accessible to everyone. It would be a metaphysical reconnection of a critical artery of importance to at least four of Cambodia’s great kings, including Suryavarman, Suryavarman II, Tribhuvanadityavarman, and Jayavarman VII.
Moreover, what an incredible tourism asset it would be. There are also unique opportunities to preserve certain earthen sections that remain spared from development. It’s also easy to see its enormous potential as an internationally marketed marathon route, cycling completion route and the like.
Temple and Structure types along the East Road
Firehouse – also referred to as Fire Shrine, Houses with Fire, Teap Chei, Gites d’etape avec du feu (Coedes), Dharmacala (coined by Finot), Vahnigriha for those in regional areas and Upakarya for those in the temple grounds, as noted in the Preah Khan inscription, K. 908 (Maxwell, 2007). An unpublished inscription, K.1297, provides a Sanskrit name for a Firehouse in Angkor as Vauddhavahniśilāgṛha (Roche, 2020), which perhaps provides more definition to their function.
In early French research, “Tiep/Teap Chei” would be used to classify this type of shrine. In the 1920s, they were studied by Finot, who chose to label them with a Sanskrit term, “Dharmacala”, meaning rest house. Later research guided by the Preah Khan of Angkor inscription revealed them as Vahnigriha, or houses with fire, aka firehouses.
These temples are quite unique and easily distinguishable. They sit on an east-west axis, its western end is a square chamber that rises up with a temple tower that then extends east with a long forebody that features a row of windows only on its southern side. Some feature slots or vent holes above those windows. Uniquely, they also feature entrances at the east and west end.
It’s worth noting that the firehouse along the East Road, and those in Angkor (in Preah Khan and Ta Prohm) and at Banteay Chhmar, are all constructed of sandstone. Those along the Northwest Road are constructed of laterite and not as highly decorated.
Based on their architectural decoration and the prominent depiction of Avalokiteshvara in their pediments, plus their noting in the Preah Khan (of Angkor) inscription, they are considered to belong to the late 12th to 13th century and the reign of King Jayavarman VII.
Temples d’etape – are only found on the East Road leading from the Angkor area to Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and are semi-regularly spaced every 12-18km. Some Temples d’etape were later accompanied by a Firehouse.
Layout-wise, they feature a central sanctuary with a long forebody opening to the east while also featuring axial entrances that are flanked by two libraries and enclosed by an outer wall with a main entrance gopura on the east and sometimes additional entrances on the north or west.
Historically, based on their architectural similarity to the Angkor Wat style of the 12th century, they were traditionally attributed to the reign of Suryavarman II. New research into an unpublished inscription also suggests the role of Tribhuvanadityavarman in the 12th century, while a link to the preceding 11th century is also seen.
The temples originally defined as Temples d’etape are Chrei, Toap Chey Thom, Pram, Supheap Tbong and Chambok. Chambok is especially notable as it is the only temple of this type to feature relief carvings of Apsara, akin to those at Angkor Wat. Inside the enclosure of Preah Khan of Kampong Svay, Kat Kdei temple also shares a vaguely similar layout to this type, albeit without libraries and seemingly uncompleted, never receiving any decorative reliefs, yet Kat Kdei is an important temple housing an inscription, K. 161, paying tribute to King Suryavarman I.
Meanwhile, Chau Srei Vibol shares a similar layout but on a much larger scale when its hilltop position, ancillary structure, and outer enclosure are considered and is more clearly related to a slightly earlier time period of the 11th century, under the reign of King Suryavarman I. The “Temples d’etape” along this route, through my untrained eyes, appear to hang on to a lot of style cues from this earlier period.
Closer to Angkor, Banteay Samre, Chau Say Tevoda, and Thommanon also share a similar layout, although researchers note these as being slightly larger (Uchida 2013). New research (Roche 2020) infers that Banteay Samre had three construction phases beginning in the 12th century and is largely attributable to the reign of Tribhuvanadityavarman.
They would all appear to be inspired by, or at least share similarities to, the layout style of Chau Srei Vibol, Prasat Ta Muen Thom, Wat Ek Phnom, Wat Baset, and Kuk Nokor all belonging to the 11th century and largely attributed to the reign of King Suryavarman I.
Temple variants – there are two temples, within 500m of the road and east of the village of Khvav (or Khvao), that don’t fit into the schema of the two temple types generally associated with the ancient roads and, in particular, the East Road, but their proximity is hard to ignore. To the south of the road is Phnom Banteay, a brick and laterite temple that shares a similar layout to Nong Khou around 20km to the north and perhaps Khtum temple, which both share layout characteristics slightly similar to Temples d’etape, albeit dating to a much earlier period based on the use of brick (typically used prior to the 12th century) and the inscription of Nong Khou which dates to the 10-11th century. Consider these along with the remnants at Wat Toap Chey and sites west of Beng Mealea, and it’s easy to see there was substantial activity along this route preceding the 12th century.
To the north of the road is Phnom Dob temple, which features the remnants of two or three east-facing brick shrines enclosed by a laterite wall. It seemingly has no layout relationship to other temples, excluding the style of its outer laterite wall.
Another anomaly is Wat Banteay Kbal Chen, which sits just south the East Road and 4km east of Chau Srei Vibol. Only its outer enclosure wall remains standing, while historical notes from the early 1900s record it as being a brick temple flanked by two libraries. The decoration of its remnants indicates it likely belongs to the 10th or 11th century.
Masonry bridges – along the East Road, there are 25 bridges recorded, the longest of which is Spean Ta Ong at 63m long, which is the third longest of the surviving ancient bridges in Cambodia.
The bridges mostly use the corbel arch construction method, while some smaller bridges use a more basic post and lintel method. It’s not clear (to me) as to whether these bridges are of the same era. The corbal arch method allows for a taller bridge to allow substantial water flows while retaining structural strength. The post and lintel method on the other hand is only suitable for smaller water crossings. The corbal arch bridges often feature wings of laterite forming a buttress wall protecting the integrity of the junction between the earthen road and bridge against high water flows.
Many retain remnants of sandstone balustrades with ornate naga ornamental finials, most of which feature a seated Buddha. Noting the naga style, they are very similar to those of the Angkor Wat style of the 12th century, while historically, the depiction of a Buddha is often seen as having been carved later and related to the reign of Jayavarman VII. Noting the few examples that are still in situ, it is somewhat clear the Buddha was added at a later date, and I do wonder what he replaced. Something that had plenty of material to create the seated Buddha’s legs but very little material to shape his torso and head, which made it necessary to cut into the naga itself. There is a naga at Spean Praptos that does not have a Buddha, and only a triangular piece is seen and a circular crest on the body of the naga, but I am unsure whether it is an original or a replica made during restoration. As for the Buddha, most are very decayed; in some, a sash can be seen coming across his left shoulder, and his hair, bulbous with a conical ushnisha, and his ears without earrings are also notable.
Whilst an entirely different composition, the “ears” at the bottom of the crest are similar to the naga from Preah Thkol (Musee Guimet) and at the eastern causeway of PKKS proper, and in some examples at Angkor Wat. The reverse side shows it as more related to the 12th century yet a 3/4 ring around the back neck of the naga is without an exact comparison, although something similar is seen in the style of Beng Mealea’s naga. Sadly, there is not enough completely intact naga across Angkorian sites to allow a greater comparison. At Wat Peung, numerous naga finials are held among other remnants, some of which are assumed to come from bridges along the route.
Research has proposed that the bridges along the East Royal Road were most likely constructed in the early Angkor Wat period based on the magnetic susceptibilities and supply ranges of sandstone blocks (Etsuo Uchida et al 2013/2020).
Water basins – in Google Earth, tracing along the old route, the outlines of differing-sized basins can be seen. To my knowledge, they are not laterite-lined apart from some that are a feature of the temple, such as at Ta En temple. Some basins are square, some are rectangular, and some appear in pairs, parallel to the road on either side. One can only assume that those in the undeveloped areas are contemporary to the ancient road. Some basins, between Khvav and PKKS, have an azimuth similar to that on which a temple is placed and likely warrant investigation for remnants. I guess this is something that’s likely already been done at some point. If there are remnants, they may potentially add a new dimension to the road’s story.
Ceramic Kilns – The kiln sites east of the Angkor capital were previously unknown until recent times. The discovery of brown-glazed stoneware kiln sites along this route has helped researchers better understand Angkorian ceramic industries. Research suggests these kilns operated approximately from the 11th/12th–14th/15th centuries CE (Ea, 2015).
The Torp Chey kiln site is particularly noteworthy because it contains one of the largest kilns ever documented in Southeast Asia. This site contains at least 12 kiln mounds, each likely containing multiple superimposed kiln remains. Researchers estimate there could be as many as 20 or more kilns in the area producing primarily brown-glazed jars, roof tiles, and zoomorphic pieces. Other significant kiln sites along this road include Veal Svay and Chong Samrong. This kiln is similar in size to the Torp Chey kiln, while the Veal Svay kiln site is smaller than the other two and appears to have specialized in large-sized wares and small, uniquely shaped wares, such as zoomorphic pieces.
The presence of these kilns along the East Road suggests that the region was a major production center of brown-glazed stoneware during the Angkor period. The kilns’ proximity to the road and Firehouses (vahnigriha) suggests they may have been part of a larger, integrated economic system.
Theravadin Buddhist terraces – Wat Preah Bat Buon Than, east of Banteay Ampil on the ancient road, retains a collection of leaf-shaped sandstone slab-style sema. Wat Chas at Khvav features a Buddhist terrace constructed from material likely recycled from the nearby Pram temple. Four km south of here is one of the more important late Angkorian Buddhist sites and a rare one from that era that features an inscription, Preah Theat Khvav Temple. Further along the East Road and closer to PKKS, Toek Khuob features a small edifice demarcated by sandstone slab-like sema similar to those seen in Angkor Thom. More sandstone sema were found in PKKS (now held near the police officers’ quarters), along with other clues to activity during that era. All of these seemingly indicate that East Road was active to some degree during the late Angkor period (13th-15th century) at least.
Historical and Contemporary Research
In the 1900s, the most notable documentation of the Royal Road network was included in Aymonier’s comprehensive survey of temples, closely followed by that of Lajonquire, who also produced a map of the five ancient roads. Louis Finot would complete a study on the Firehouse that he would label Dharmacala in 1920. As noted by Hendrickson (2007), in 1998, Im Sokrithy, a Cambodian archeologist, carried out the first focused documentation and study of the ancient routes in an unpublished thesis. In 2000, Bruno Brugiuer published a study on the bridges found along the ancient routes, and between 2007 and 2010, Mitch Hendrickson published a thesis and several papers after carrying out a comprehensive study of the ancient road network from several different angles. In 2013, Etsuo Uchida et al. published a study into the provenance and potential dating of sandstone used to create the Temples d’étape and Fire Shrines along the East Road. Between 2013 and 2020, several papers were published after the archeological investigations at the kiln sites along the ancient road. In 2020, a new study by Louise Roche at Banteay Samrae correlated art styles and two “new” inscriptions K. 1222 and K. 1297.
- Le Cambodge I, II, III, Aymonier, 1900-1904
- Inventaire Monuments du Cambodge I, II, III, Lajonquiere, 1902-1911
- Dharmaçalas au Cambodge, Louis Finot, 1925
- Phnom Kulen et sa region, (map) Jean Boulbert/Jean Fontanel, 1975
- Phlau Beng Site, Chhay Visoth and Mitch Hendrickson, 2005
- Arteries of Empire: An Operational Study of Transport and Communication in Angkorian Southeast Asia, 2007, Mitch Hendrickson
- People around the Houses with Fire: Archaeological investigation of settlement around the Jayavarman VII ‘resthouse’ temples, 2008, Mitch Hendrickson
- New evidence of brown glaze stoneware kilns along the East road from Angkor, 2008, Mitch Hendrickson
- Consideration of the Construction Period of the Khmer Temples along the East Royal Road to Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and the Provenance of Sandstone Blocks Based on Their Magnetic Susceptibility, Etsuo Uchida et al, 2013
- Torp Chey: Analysis of an Angkorian Kiln and Ceramic Industry, Cambodia, Ea Darith, 2015
- Supply ranges of stone blocks used in masonry bridges and their construction period along the East Royal Road in the Khmer Empire, Cambodia, Etsuo Uchida et al, 2020
- Le sanctuaire de Banteay Samrae à Angkor : une fondation bouddhique du règne de Tribhuvanādityavarman, Louise Roche, 2020
There is no doubt that research, in particular of those two inscriptions (K. 1222 and K. 1297), and further archeological study will have much much more to reveal about this amazing ancient road.