Prasat Srot (Koh Ker)

Signposted as Prasat Srot, it is the two “palaces” that flank either side of what was once the causeway leading to Prasat Thom, the principal temple of the Koh Ker group, and in turn the iconic pyramid, Prasat Prang.

The term “palace” (or palais in French) used to describe this archetype was coined by early French researchers but no definitive answer has been discovered as to the real purpose and function of this building layout. There are several more of these types of structures across the ancient Khmer Empire, see “palace” tag for more. As for where the royal palace of Koh Ker was located, contemporary research points to beside Andong Preng.

Layout

Prasat Srot in the overall layout of Prasat Thom-Prasat Prang

Historical Notes

Translated from French

It would perhaps seem more natural to examine now the Pran whose enclosure is adjacent to Prását Thom rather than the palaces which are separated from it by 170 meters. But these buildings are on the same scale as the series of rooms I-II and if they are more distant in terms of distance, I believe they are closer in time and even doubtless contemporary with the first constructions of the temple.

These palaces (?) are two groups of laterite buildings with angular roofs and gables with crooks, with divisions into three side sections. Two of these buildings, to the east, which seem to correspond to the supposed reception rooms of ordinary palaces, are symmetrical but are not arranged parallel to the main axis of the ave. They are perpendicular to it, set their two-bay portico against it and open their windows to the east. The three other buildings that surround each rectangular courtyard have their openings to the south and to the east. Of these buildings, the most important, which has a portico with one bay at each end, is to the south of the courtyard; two others without portico are to the North and to the West; the principal rooms appear to have had three windows, the small ones, all five balusters; doors, placed opposite each other, connect the various buildings. None of the openings, even under the portico, show any decorative composition. The constant layout of the lighting favorable to the south leads one of the long buildings to present only a blind facade on the access avenue. The two sets are quite well preserved, especially that of the South.

L’Art khmèr classique , monuments du quadrant Nord-Est, Henri Parmentier, 1939, [extract from the section on Prasat Thom]

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..