Located 550m west of Beng Mealea and 270m southwest of Prasat Duan Chan, Kuk Troap temple features the remnants of a brick/sandstone temple. It’s a small temple whose moat-surrounded mound measures around 25m wide and 30m long. To the east is a basin measuring around 165m x 86m. Interestingly, the site has an east-southeast orientation rather than the typical east-northeast.
On the raised mound are the remnants of the central shrine. It was constructed in sandstone, open to the east with false doors on its other sides, and it seems likely to have a superstructure made of brick, noting the brick rubble seen around the site. It is quite petite, maybe only 5-6m wide. It may have had a shrine to its left and right with only wells remaining, although that’s a guess as the site is too densely covered in overgrowth at the time of visiting.
The site appears to have never been fully completed due to the lack of decorative carving. However, the feet of a small lion are seen, and two colonette fragments, partially complete, can be seen. The colonette indicating the site relates to the 10th-11th century. It should be noted that there are two small stone lions sitting at the front of the nearby pagoda that may be related to this site.
The site doesn’t appear in early French inventories and even later contemporary inventories. Known to the monks at the adjacent pagoda, Wat Toek Lech, it was the late Reinhart Zieger who introduced the site to the broader public.
Map
Site Info
- Site Name: Prasat Kuk Troap Khmer Name: បា្រសាទគុកទ្រព្យ
- Reference ID: HA44137 | Posted: January 6, 2025 | Last Update: January 6th, 2025
- Tags/Group: Beng Mealea, pr, re, Temples
- Location: Siem Reap Province > Svay Leu District > Boeng Mealea Commune > Boeng Mealea Village
