Prasat Samnang Ta Sok

Located around 740m west of Prasat Ta Naem and almost 1km west of the outer enclosure of Banteay Chhmar temple, Samnang Ta Sok temple is one of best preserved of the eight satellite temples.

It sits along the east west axis of the main temple and entered from the east by a earthen causeway, in the first image below, that some like to label “Spean Ta Sok”. It features the remains of a cruciform sandstone shrine with laterite library building. These two are surrounded by a laterite outer enclosure wall with entrance pavilion on the east, further surrounded by a moat with access from the east. The tall sandstone tower features four massive smiling faces on its upper register, all relatively intact. The gopura on the eastern side has mostly collapsed.

The body of the shrine is a cruciform layout open to the east with remains of a forebody extending the eastern entrance while the other four cardinal points feature closed chambers. Above the internal doorways, arched niches present a row of six seated Buddha-Bhaisajya Guru, one sadly lost to time. The doorjambs, as seen in the 2021 images, beautifully decorated with the tapestry design common to temples of this era.

Inside the shrine, note the walls that still retain some reddish polychrome and in places, remnants of stucco which is quite rare. One one particular corner a pattern can be seen which one could wonder is from erosion or traces of original art.

December 2021 visit

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..