Terrace B – Angkor Thom

Also known as Monument 36. A site as yet to be prepared for visitors. Located in the northeast quadrant of Angkor Thom and referred to as Terrace B in French maps from the 1900s, the overgrown site features the remains of perhaps two terraces very near to each other, this one Terrace B, and nearby Terrace B2.

Terrace B is surrounded by a ruinous laterite wall with entry steps still visible on its western side, with overgrowth it’s difficult to determine the original configuration internally of the roughly 25 m by 25 m enclosure. In the rubble, there are several sema stones and fascinatingly, one sema has been lifted up by uprooted tree almost appearing as if the sema stone has somehow risen up to uproot the tree in a battle that took place while no one was looking all these years.

Carved pieces can be seen which are likely recycled from elsewhere as is typical of  “Buddhist Terraces” along with sandstone plinths and more laterite blocks.

Fortunately, there are experts on the case with the site being actively investigated (at the time of writing – 2021) by the Angkor Vihara Project/APSARA and their study into Theravadan Buddhist structures of the late Angkor period (13th-15th c).

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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..