Neam Rup Temple

The ancient temple of Neam Rup, also known as Prasat Neam Roub, dates back to the early 11th century and is completely formed of sandstone once featuring three towers and an outer moat, 195 m x 200 m, which still surrounds the site today. Interestingly, the site features a second moat, 530 m x 560 m, enclosing vast grounds that were perhaps once a habitation area akin to the discoveries made at Preah Khan.

As was common practice in the 14-19th century, monks had reused a lot of the stone masonry to create a vihara as noted by French researcher E. Lunet de Lajonquière in his report published in 1911. That vihara has since been replaced with the modern pagoda we see today. That seems to be not the only reuse of the sandstone blocks, looking around the inner edge of the moat you can find a lot of blocks that originated from one of the three towers.

Thankfully the central tower is still partly standing and we can witness some of the beautiful art from the early 11th century including reliefs of deities flanking the doorways, noting the slender waists and tilted hips, plus remnants of Dvarapala accents, ornate base molding and decoration, and numerous sandstone pedestal bases, some for statuary and some that would have likely supported stone lions.

The site is quite pleasant and teamed up with other sites in the area, it’s well worth the journey.

Around the time of 1962, the head of a deity was found here. (Via Fonds Cambodge)

Inscription

An inscribed stele, registered under K.254, was found at the nearby basin, Trapeang Don Om (or Trapeang Don U/Don On), and is believed to originate from this site. The inscription describes in detail what was given to the gods, priests, and servants for their subsentence, plus providing a date of 1051 AD, a tribute to King Suryavarman II, and noting other foundations in the era. The Khmer text on the stele notes donations made to the god of Lingapura, and, the reign of kings. It was also important in revealing the likely rice harvest potential in the era. (Jacques 2002/IC III, p. 180). The stele is now residing in the collection of the Museum Guimet.

Historical Notes

Neam Rup. The monks of the pagoda, which was installed on the site of this temple, 3 kilometers away to the north of the village of Lobök, have completely reworked it. There was once there a group of three sandstone sanctuaries regularly arranged and oriented. Their doors, their false doors, had received ordinary decoration: Devatas holding long-stemmed flowers in their hands occupied the side panels. The central sanctuary alone is still standing up to the height of the lintels of its doors, filled with the heaped blocks of its collapsed vault; as for the other two, they are completely demolished.

The sculpted stones from these demolitions were used to build the base of the vihara and to indicate around it a sort of density made with these disparate materials: crownings of sanctuaries in the shape of a blooming lotus, fragments of pediments, decorative lintels of type III, octagonal columns, etc. Some acroteria are decorated with figures of Dvarapâlas and corner plinths under reductions of domed sanctuaries with five tiers.

Inscriptions from Trapeang Don U. One inscribed stele found by M. Aymonier at Trapeang Don U (2 kilometres west from Neam Rup) was sent to the Guimet museum. The inscriptions found there include 47 lines on one of the large faces and 46 on the other in Sanskrit and Khmer, on the other faces, 47 and 46 lines in Khmer. They give dates ranging from 979 çaka = 1057 A.D. to 1048 çaka = 1126 A.D. and detail various creations of statues of gods as well as donations made.

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