Prei Khmeng

Prei Khmeng Temple, or Prasat Prei Kmeng, is a very small, ruinous, but highly important temple site located southwest of the Western Baray in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. The temple is one of the oldest and pre-dates the Angkorian period which gave rise to well-known sites such as, Angkor Wat.

Prei Khmeng is a 7th-century temple built in the Chenla era, and for comparison, it pre-dates Angkor Wat by some 400 years and even the beginning of the Angkorian Era by around 150 years.

First visited by French archaeologists in 1933 a unique door lintel and inscription (given the reference number K.774) were recorded. The unique lintel now defines a period of Khmer architecture style known by the same name, “Prei Khmeng Style” and now resides in the Museum Guimet in France.

Research has indicated that an even earlier temple existed on the site with occupation in the area believed to be dating back to the 1st and 2nd centuries based on carbon-dated discoveries.

Today there are only remnants of the stone and brickwork remaining atop the mound surrounded by trees and its mostly dry moat. You can reach here by taking a dirt trail suitable for moto and bikes leading off-road 6 which heads almost straight to the site.

Historical Images – more at Fonds Cambodge