Terrace Group 5 – Monument 2 – (ATV028)

Located south of the East Gate Road, east of the Bayon Temple, is an unusual Buddhist Terrace structure that was recorded by Henri Marchal in 1918 and, in recent times, has been under research by the Angkor Vihara Project.

The Buddhist Terrace structures of the late/post-Angkorian era found throughout Angkor Thom and surrounding sites typically align on an east-west axis, here, this site is on a north-south axis and, quite unusually, rises up with at least three levels.

Atop the structure, and at its northern end, three sema stones are seen, and in keeping with this site’s odd nature, they are placed side by side instead of being stacked in front of each other. At the southern end of the rise is a laterite boxed area, perhaps the balan. Around the site are various fragments of Buddhist statuary and numerous pedestals.

Images March & May 2021

Images Dec 2025 – Post Clearance by AVP

Historical Notes

300 meters to the East is a pond called by the locals trapân rôn damrëi. To the west of this pond, an embankment must have corresponded to an ancient Buddhist temple, of which very little remains.

This terrace, exceptionally oriented North-South, measures approximately 30 meters by 8 meters. Its highest points sit about 2 meters above the average level of the surrounding ground. The perimeter wall, made of laterite, is now only indicated by a few rare stones still in place. At the southern end, a remnant of a square, molded sandstone pedestal likely formed the base of a bàlàn. Near this base lie several sandstone statues:

– Buddhas, both seated and standing, with or without nagas.
– Several Ganeshas.
– A headless four-armed deity seated in the Indian fashion.
– A very crude statue of a standing figure in a sort of sheath (Pl. XI C).

Fifteen meters north of this pedestal base, another heavily damaged mound marks the remains of a laterite construction, perhaps a cetdëi. A few semas and numerous tile fragments litter the ground.

1918, Marchal, Monuments Secondaires et Terrasses Bouddhiques d’Angkor Thom

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..