South Khleang – Highlights & History

Located in Angkor Thom flanking the causeway that leads to the ancient Royal Palace from the Gate of Victory, the South Khleang is mirrored to its north by the North Khleang and fronted by the stunning towers collectively known as Sour Prat.

Whilst it mirrors the North Khleang in location and style the two have quite distinct differences. Both feature a long hall, on a north-south axis featuring balustered windows and chambers at each end that step down in level. The South Khleang features a carved lintel and pediment on its eastern wall still in situ, the southern lintel is in quite a good condition. Like its northern counterpart, a wall originally enclosed a courtyard on the eastern side although here, there are the remains of a cruciform terrace that featured stone pillars and no shrine like we see to the north.

Unlike its northern counterpart, it does not appear to have been modified in later eras where a tower was added and a naga terrace preceding the entrance. Here, the gallery originally featured carpentry supporting a tiled wooden roof and there is no layer of laterite bolstering the internal walls.

The South Khleang is also interesting for featuring inscriptions noted further below that tie into those on the east gopura (entrance pavilion) on the Royal Palace, in this case, noting an oath of loyalty to King Suryavarman by 56 dignitaries. A stele was also found here featuring a date of 1015 AD and some notes on an earlier king, Hashavarman I. 

Researchers note that neither the inscription here nor those at the North Khleang provide a date of construction whilst they are generally attributed to the late 10th or early 11 century with the north likely constructed by Jayavarman V and the south, later by Suryavarman I.

In Khmer, the word ‘Khleang’ means ‘storeroom’ although some believe that may not likely have been the original function of the structures. French researchers used the label “palais” to categorise this and the North Khleang along with several other similar structures belonging to the early Angkorian Empire but still to this day no definitive answer has been reached on their true purpose, more on those here.

Inscriptions

The site carries three important inscriptions, some of which connect with the inscriptions on the nearby gopura (entrance pavilion) of the ancient Royal Palace.

• K. 466 – on the east doorframe – 38 lines of Khmer text – IC III, p. 219
• K. 467 – on the west doorframe – 29 lines of Khmer text – IC III, p. 217
• K. 541 – stele with 28 + 28 lines of Khmer text – IC III, p. 221

Historical Images – more at Fonds Cambodge

References and further reading

• Le Khléang Sud d’Angkor Thom, quelques éléments liés à l’histoire architecturale du monument, Royère Pascal, 1997

Rodney Charles LHuillier

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