Kbal Bei Temple

Located northeast of Srei Snam, it’s a walled group of three brick temples, mostly in ruin. The site features a laterite outer wall with an entrance gopura on the east and on the west (not sure about the south and north).

Wall and Gopura – The east gopura appears as though it would have been reasonably elaborate with a chambered entrance with columned windows, remains of lintels are also seen. Both entrances were made of brick with a laterite base, and sandstone door and window frames.

Central Shrines – A library building can be seen on the south side and there may be another but, the site is uncleared and perhaps somewhat dangerous too. At the time, 10/02/22, I believed that this was a cleared site but as I would discover it certainly isn’t, so, perhaps hold off on visiting for now. It will certainly be very enjoyable once it is. Anyways, I did get a few shots of what remains of the central brick temple which still has some white paint rendering and features a sandstone false door plus a pic of the doorframe of the south temple.

Historical Notes

Prasat Kabal Bei. This monument is located 3.5 kilometres S. E. of the village of Sleng. We have visited at an inauspicious time and many details may have escaped us.

It includes a group of three brick sanctuaries, square, regularly arranged on the same N-S line. and oriented to the East. A limonite wall, still fairly well preserved, demarcates, around the group, a vast rectangular enclosure; it is interrupted on the E. face by a completely ruined limonite gopura. Two annexed brick buildings are regularly placed and oriented in the eastern corners of the enclosure.

A moat surrounds the wall; it is interrupted at E. by a causeway leading to a cruciform terrace, with limonite retaining walls, perhaps intended to serve as support for a gopura which would have marked out a second enclosure

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, E. Lunet de Lajonquière, 1902-1911

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via [email protected] - more..