Sangkae Kbal Krabei Temple

Also recorded as Prasat Preah Trapeang North, it is the remains of a square laterite temple. The temple stands alone, opening to the east with a sandstone doorframe with false doors and pilasters formed in laterite on its other sides. There’s a large mound of bricks with earlier site reports speculating about the temple having a brick superstructure. The site is also an active monastery and inside the vihara is a collection of remnants including two large sandstone crown pieces from the top of the temple, these are of a different style and one is likely from another nearby site.

Actually, there’s quite a collection of sandstone remnants around the temple and inside the vihara some of which seem incongruent with the temple we see standing at the site. They include pedestals, numerous naga corner pieces, numerous deposit stones, a grinding tablet, ritual paraphernalia, a boundary marker/bollard, window columns, and the two crown pieces mentioned earlier. Interestingly, the vihara itself seems to have used laterite blocks from the ancient site to complement its foundation.

Historical Notes

Prasat Prah Trapeang, North. It is a small limonite sanctuary, square, open to the east, without a forebody, measuring 3.50 m aside externally. The construction is neat and the sculptures of the ornamental device of the door are quite fine polygonal columns, ringed, have the following particularity: from the molding which underlines the upper ring, emerge the heads of någas which fold up, forming handles, and are attached to the upper part of the ring. The decorative lintel is of type III and presents, as a central group, Indra on the three-headed elephant.

Inventaire descriptif des monuments du Cambodge, E. Lunet de Lajonquière, 1902

Notes: as of 01/23, the site is reasonably easy to access via a dirt road arterial that connects Khvav village in the south to Prasat Pram near road 64 in the north. 1 km to the southwest is Chrei Khanhien aka Prasat Trapeang South.

Rodney Charles LHuillier

Living in Asia for over a decade and now residing in beautiful Siem Reap - Contact via [email protected] - more..