Sasar Sdam Temple (Damdaek)

An ancient site that was once something a little unique within the context of the Khmer Empire, while the site is no longer standing and heavily overgrown, it’s thankfully preserved.

Early French notes report the remains of an “unprecedented vestige” built of brick on a laterite foundation. They recorded it as measuring 8 m in length, 6.5 m wide, opening to the east with and preceded by a terrace. They noted the walls of the sanctuary surrounded a room with four sandstone pillars of 3.5 m in height with a Buddhist stupa at its center.

The north and south side walls featured columned windows while its eastern entrance carried an inscription on its doorframe which was then topped by a lintel featuring multiple animal figures depicting Mara’s assault on the Buddha (or Buddha defeating Mara). Numerous remains of a frieze with worshipping characters were also found. (Ref Chronique, 37, p 636)

The site is located 400 m north of Preah Trapeang in Damdek Commune and 200 m north of an ancient Buddhist boundary marker and an ancestral Chinese graveyard area in the middle of a field hidden amongst a preserved but overgrown area measuring about 60 m across. Amongst the clear areas, the remains of the window frames, sandstone plinths, a pedestal, and a long pillar with an ornate base can still be seen.

Historical Images – via Fonds Cambodge – property of EFEO

The lintel

The site clearance in 1937

The stupa and remnants

Layout Plan – Layout plan via EFEO and the central stupa via Marchal Henri. Note sur la forme du stūpa au Cambodge

Inscription

• K. 871 – doorframe featuring 36 lines of Sanskrit and 6 + 6 lines of Khmer – unpublished

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..