Kampong Kdei Temple

Also recorded as Prasat Praptos, it’s the remains of a laterite temple that carries inscriptions from the 10th century. Not a lot remains of the site today bar a partially standing laterite wall, some plinths, and an inscribed sandstone doorframe. Whilst no foundation stele was discovered to record such, George Coedes noted the site as possibly being one of the 102 “Hospital Chapels” from the era of King Jayavarman VII (reign 1181–1218 AD) based upon the site layout, if correct, constructed from recycling the prior existing site, which is not unusual.

Today, what remains of the site is partially occupied and tightly surrounded by private dwellings. Originally it had a layout featuring a single tower, square with a forebody extending the entrance, plus a “library” building in the southeast corner, all enclosed by a wall with gopura on the eastern side according to historical notes.

Big thanks to the kind local people in Kampong Kdei who let us through their property and showed us the remains of the site (12/22).

Historical Notes

Prasat Praptös. This temple is located about 800 meters to the east. from Spean Praptös, some distance to the old roadway. It includes: I. A laterite sanctuary, square, open to the E., with forebody; II. An annex building (treasure or library); III. A rectangular enclosure with monumental door on the E-face (fig. 144).

I. Sanctuary. This building is completely ruined: its vault has collapsed inside, it now only forms a pile of limonite blocks from which emerges a door frame with its ornamental device, polygonal columns and decorative lintel, the latter completely chipped and indecipherable.

II. Annex building. The annex building stands in the SE corner. of the enclosure. It is a small limonite construction, rectangular, open to the W. with front building forming a dark vestibule of which the first door with a sandstone frame is very low. This aedicula is vaulted: the two-sided corbelled vault rests on the large faces which are approximately 2 meters high. The small faces are gabled; that of the E. is decorated with a false door.

III. The enclosure is made up of a limonite wall with a coping measuring 1 m. 50 in height, interrupted on the E. face by a gopura, with a single passage. This building contains a cruciform room and two side rooms. The first opens to the outside and the inside at the end of each of its branches perpendicular to the surrounding wall. by doors preceded by vestibules; the exterior vestibule is lit by side windows. The side rooms extend the branches of the central room parallel to the surrounding wall, with which they communicate through an opening made in the dividing wall; They are each lit by a window pierced in the exterior facade The surrounding wall was not welded to the small faces of the gopur. thus providing, to the N. and S., two small passages forming side passages. It presents on the E. face a fairly inflexible arrangement. The part of this face which is to the N. of the monumental door is arched, as a result, we believe, of an equally recognizable rearrangement of the remains with regard to the gopura: certain door jambs, for example, are decorated with moldings which do not correspond to the decoration of the rest of the frame of which they are currently part. The doors of this building apparently presented the ordinary elements of decoration; However, we only found the polygonal columns and the decorative lintel of the interior door of vestibule.

This decorative lintel is very ruined; it is type II. The central motif is formed by the group of Visnu on Garuda’s shoulders: bodies of någas passing under the arms of the bird-man form a garland and will raise their blossoming heads in the lower corners of the panel.

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, 1901, E. Lunet de Lajonquière

Inscriptions

The inscriptions reveal: K 170 attesting to a Hindu triad, K 171 noting the 10th century date and Jayavarman V era, and K 769 mostly illegible but noting a linga.

• K. 170 – 26 lines of Sanskrit – ISC, n° XVI, p. 117
• K. 171 – 9 lines of Khmer – IC VI, p. 165
• K. 769 – 20 lines of Sanskrit – IC VI, p. 318

Historical Images

via Fonds Cambodge

References

• Cœdès Georges. II. Études cambodgiennes. In: Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient. Tome 40 N°2, 1940. pp. 315-349.

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..