Wat Sala (Soutr Nikom District)

Also recorded as Wat Sovan Seila (Khmer: វត្តសុវណ្ណសិលា), it’s a contemporary monastery and pagoda that retains the remnants of an ancient temple site perhaps dating to the tenth century.

Nearby the pagoda is a collection of remnants of the ancient temple that may have dated to around the 10th century including a decorated pilaster, statuette fragment, grinding pestle, and pedestals. There are also fragments of Buddhist statuary that may well date to the post-Angkor period, but it’s difficult to know without any historical notes indicating much about the vihara that preceded the pagoda we see today if in fact there was one.

To the east of the pagoda, 150m or so, there is a brick stupa that was built atop a laterite base that could also be quite old (the 100-year range or older?).

On the north side of the pagoda is a platform with a coffin/memorial of a monk/abbot who passed away in 2015. I do wonder whether the base structure seen here is in fact the older vihara.

Historical Notes

There are some historical notes from 1931 mentioning a lintel of a Type III being stored in a shelter and in the pagoda, a relief of “Preah Kamchey ព្រះកាំឆា្យ”- Journal de Fouilles N°IX – Années 1931-1932

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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..

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