photo credit: RightIndex

Bayon drainage system discovered
Phnom Penh Post, 11 February 2010

A team of Cambodian and Japanese archaeologists says it has uncovered an ancient man-made drainage system at the site of the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom.

The temple, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, has been the subject of three digs since 1999, but this is the first time such a drainage system has been discovered, according to the archeologists.

“The drainage system is for rainwater flow from the first and second levels,” said Heng Kamsan, one of the archaeologists.
Heng Kamsan said 14 metres of the 70-centimetre-wide drain had been dug up, and that its covering of laterite stone was due to be removed next week.

photo credit: kurvenalbn

• Bertrand shows us some temples from Sukhothai
• M.Kate *really* loves the Bayon
• While Simple Life and Sherry take on the Prambanan temple complex
• And Alison in Cambodia interviews the man who has visit almost all of the 4,000 archaeological sites in Cambodia

Related Books:
- Art of Sukhothai
- Ancient Sukhothai: Thailand’s Cultural Heritage
- Bayon: New Perspectives
- Global Treasures Prambanan Java, Indonesia
- In Praise of Prambanan: Dutch Essays on the Loro Jonggrang Temple Complex (Translation series / Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde)

photo credit: soham_pablo

• CK takes pictures of the tourists at the Angkor Archaeological Park
• Here’s a paper on prehistoric watercraft of the Malay world, written in Bahasa Indonesia (I think). It’s entitled: Arkeologi dan Pengenalan Prasejarah Perahu Nusantara
• Caloy shares the photos he took at Angkor, featuring some of the lesser-known temples like Pre Rup and Ta Keo
• Tired of the Preah Vihear saga? So am I. The constant to-ing and fro-ing makes it difficult for me to keep track of the news, and Details Are Sketchy also weighs in on this
• Alvin posts his photos from his visit to Angkor, here, here, here, and here
• While down south, Steve visits Prambanan and Borobudur
• Peru also posts his shots from Borobudur
• Here’s another picture-full post of Borobudur from Simple Life
• Phalkunz posts a lecture by Dr Katsushi Ikeuchi on the Bayon temple

Related Books:
- Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition (Odyssey Illustrated Guide)
- Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places)
- Angkor Cities and Temples
- Ancient History (The Indonesian Heritage Series)
- Borobudur: Golden Tales of the Buddhas (Periplus Travel Guides)
- The Mysteries of Borobudur: Discover Indonesia Series
- Bayon: New Perspectives

• Johny Setiawan takes a walk through the Indonesian National Museum and reflects on the shared heritage of Malaysia and Indonesia.
• At Anthropology.net, we hear more about the recent discovery of the genetic mutation that might explain homo floresiensis.
• Monkeysmooth visits the heritage-endangered site of Ayutthaya.
• The Thai Art and Archaeology blog writes about recent excavations at Thung Kula Ronghai.
• Filip visits the Bayon temple at Angkor
• While this French site has some pictures of the bas-reliefs in Angkor Wat.

In this series of weekly rojaks (published on Wednesdays) I’ll feature other sites in the blogosphere that are related to Southeast Asia and archaeology in general. Got a recommendation for the next Wednesday rojak? Email me!

Beng Melea, creative commons photo by Hartford Schmidt.

Defying dynasties
An expert in Buddhist art questions the Hindu influence in four of Angkor’s temples

There’s always something to be discovered in Khmer art. Just ask renowned Angkor scholar Vittorio Roveda. In a recent Siam Society lecture, Roveda questioned the accepted Hindu attribution of the Angkor temples of Banteay Samre, Chau Say Tevoda, Thomannon and Beng Mealea and presented evidence of underlying Buddhist iconography.

…

Roveda is particularly interested in Khmer history covering the 12th and 13th centuries, a period characterised by dynastic rivalries. The era also marks the Khmer Empire’s transition from Hinduism to Mahayana Buddhism in the 1300s, and then back to Hinduism before the eventual rise of Theravada Buddhism in the 1400s. A systematic defacing of Buddha images occurred in this period, especially after the reign of Jayavarman VII, who was in power from 1181 to sometime after 1206, he says, pointing to the various Buddhist elements in Angkor temples that were subsequently replaced by Hindu-inspired sculpture.

According to Roveda, defacing religious images was motivated more by politics than religion, and as the throne changed hands from one dynasty to the next, iconoclasm became a major political tool, one that was used until the reign of Jayavarman VIII (1243-1295).

Interestingly enough, this story has some parallels to the story of the pharaoh Akhenaten, of Egypt’s New Kingdom who reigned about 2,000 years before. During his short reign, he managed to change the polytheistic state religion into a monotheistic one, directing worship towards Aten, the sun god. The people didn’t seem to take too kindly to the drastic change of gods: after his reign, it seems there was a violent upheaval against his religious reforms and Egypt returned to the polytheistic religion it was used to. Poor Akhenaten’s sculptures were defaced and his named was erased from the official king-lists.

Unlike Akhenaten however, Buddhism eventually regained its position as the dominant religion in Angkor (albeit the Theravada strain rather than the Mahayana version), and Jayavarman VII is still considered one of the greatest kings from Angkor.

You can read more about Jayavarman VII’s efforts to establish Buddhism as the state religion in Angkor in Defying Dynasties – as well as a quick tip on distinguishing the Buddhist temples from the Hindu ones!

Read more about the civilisation and religion of Angkor in:
- Bayon Reconsidered by V. Roveda, O. Cunin and C. Jacques
- Images of the Gods: Khmer Mythology in Cambodia, Laos & Thailand by V. Roveda
- Khmer Mythology: Secrets Of Angkor Wat by V. Roveda
- The Treasures of Angkor: Cultural Travel Guide (Rizzoli Art Guide) by M. Albanese
- The Civilization of Angkor by C. Higham
Find more books about Angkor in the SEAArch Bookstore.

• Kambiz Kamrani takes a closer look at the bone analyses outlined in the study.
• The Cabinet of Wonders takes a step back to comment on the dynamics of opinion about the hobbit in Hobbits? It’s all in the wrist.
• While Kris points out that between a new species of human or deformed, the hobbit might not even be human.
• And for an overview of early human migrations through the world, TuLu Research posts a small map and timeline for your reference.
• On an afterthought, 900 ft Jesus thinks that the whole Hobbit affair should really mess with creationists’ heads.

Of course, there’s some other stuff in Southeast Asia too, like:

• Andy Brouwer muses about a stolen Buddhist sculpture from a small Angkoran temple Daun Tri.
• Still in Cambodia, Jeremie and Rita write about the Bayon, the royal temple of Angkor Thom.

In this series of weekly rojaks (published on Wednesdays) I’ll feature other sites in the blogosphere that are of related to archaeology in Southeast Asia. Got a recommendation for the next Wednesday rojak? Email me

Angkor Thom is many times larger than Angkor Wat, which by itself is the size of six football fields. And the even huger rectangular plot that we call the Western Baray was a man-made reservoir. Although no longer in use and now only half filled, one can immediately appreciate the immensity of Angkor’s water management system that has made the news this week.

Before we start, here are the places we’ll be visiting in this section of Adventures in Angkor:
1. The Southern Gopura
2. The Bayon
3. Baphuon
4. Phimeanakas
5. The Elephant Terrace
6. The Suor Prat Towers

As you can tell, Angkor Thom is the largest of the temple complexes of Angkor, sitting in a square some 3km long on each side. It was built during the reign of Jayavarman VII in the 12th century, and continued to be in use for much longer – probably because of it’s immense size, following rulers might have found Angkor Thom hard to top! So they would’ve have assumed Angkor Thom and made it theirs through their own modifications. Something as big as Angkor Thom would have enveloped structures that were previously built there, including some pre-existing temples. Again, the complex is surrounded by a moat with gates (gopuras) on each cardinal side – but you’ll notice from the two roads on the east side the presence of two gates – one gate leads to the Bayon in the centre while the other gate would have led to the palace, traditionally built to the north of the temple.

1. The South Gopura

We entered the temple through the south gopura, traversing yet another large man-made moat, to be greeted by the face towers that is so distinctive of the Bayon style.

Hmm… a row of deities pulling on a large naga-snake. Does this motif look familiar to you? Yes, we’ve seen this motif before, previously in Angkor Wat on the relief depicting the Churning of the Milk Sea. A row of devas and asuras flank the causeway again, pulling on Vasuki the giant snake. If you compare the statues here and the bas-relief in Angkor Wat, you’ll find that they even wear the same corresponding headdress!

If the demons and demigods are pulling here, does that mean that the Bayon in the middle is the focal point?

2. The Bayon

The roads from the gopuras lead to a forbidding structure in the centre – The Bayon, most probably the state temple of Angkor Thom, judging by the lack of a wall surrounding it.

Like Angkor Wat, the Bayon is home to many series of bas-reliefs, this time depicting daily life in the ancient Khmer world:

A scene of cooking over a clay stove.

Two competitors getting ready to release their chickens for battle. Cock-fighting, still a popular sport in rural parts of Southeast Asia, and a heavily gambled-on sport.

Two gladiators or soldiers, either sparring or training for battle. Notice their interesting armaments and shields. We know that they are not in fact enemies, because the enemy is depicted clearly in the next relief:

A Khmer warrior places the killing low on a Cham invader – in the earlier post about Angkor Wat I mentioned how the Cham were the constant enemies of the Khmer and how they wore crescent-shaped helmets. You can see the helmets clearly here.

This depiction of building is a rare insight to the construction techniques used by the Khmers. Notice the use of chisels and hammers, as well as the manual carrying of stone blocks as opposed to using elephants, which we know were well in use by the Khmers. Or maybe they didn’t have space to carve an elephant…

The Bayon has a distinctly crammed look and feel about it, and as many as 37 of the original towers vie for prominence in the skyline.

The most distinctive features of these towers are the serene faces that look towards the four cardinal directions.

3. Baphuon

Situated northwest of the Bayon is a large temple-mound of Baphuon, built in an earlier period by Udayadityavarman II in the 1th century. The Baphuon was for a long time in a state of collapse and disrepair, and it was only in last year that restorations works were sufficiently carried out that it could receive visitors once more. The dark clouds were threatening to rain, so unfortunately I gave this a miss.

4. Phimeanakas

Another early temple, dating earlier than Angkor Thom, is the stepped pyramid of Phimeanakas, north of the Baphuon. This site dates to the reign of Jayavarman V in the mid-11th century, but was incorporated into Angkor Thom and in later centuries.

As you can see, the structure is made mainly of red laterite and doesn’t have the impressive sandstone finish like the other temples we’ve seen before. The ascent to the pyramid is another steep climb, comparable to Angkor Wat, but fortunately a wooden stairway was constructed on the western side of the pyramid for easy access.

Phimeanakas was probably also part of the actual royal palace, but the palatial bits would have been constructed of perishable wood, which gives the pyramid its chaotic look today.

5. The Elephant Terrace

Running 300 metres from north to south, east of Baphuon and Phimeanakas is the Terrace of Elephants, a raised platform overlooking an expanse of field, no doubt an assembly point for troops. Why is it called the Elephant Terrace?

No prizes for guessing here – carvings of elephants line the wall of the terrace. Atop this terrace, one can imagine the king convening with his generals on the plan for war.

Some portions of the terrace are “propped” up by two sets of mystical animals, the simha (lion) and the garuda (bird, you can tell by the beak) – a symbol of the king’s divine nature, perhaps?

Hidden in one of the terraces is also a rare carving of a five-headed horse.

Nearby, a separate terrace houses a statue of the Leper King – there is an old legend that one of the Angkoran kings was a leper, which gives this terrace its name. The statue dates to the 15th century, however, while the terrace itself was built in the 13th century.

6. The Suor Prat Towers

Here’s the view of the assembly field from the Elephant Terrace. From a distance, you can see a row of 12 small towers. Zhou Daguan, a Chinese diplomat who spent a year in Angkor in the 13th century wrote about its unique use:

When two men are in dispute and the truth cannot be ascertained, each is placed in a tower for one or more days. After those days, the men emerge from the tower and the man not suffering from any illness or disease is deemed to be telling the truth. This unique judicial process is called “Celestial Judgement”!

That wraps up this week’s Adventures in Angkor – and just about covers my entire archaeological tour. Pity, I only had so many days to spend in Siem Reap and there is so much more to explore – which definitely means I’ll be returning in the future! Next week, I’ll have a little section on Siem Reap town itself for the tourist-minded planning to make a trip down.

Some books about the topics covered in this post:
- Bayon Reconsidered by V. Roveda, O. Cunin and C. Jacques
- Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
- The Armies of Angkor: Military Structure and Weaponry of the Khmers by M. Jacq-Hergoualc’h
- Ancient Angkor (River Book Guides) by C. Jaques
- The Civilization of Angkor by C. Higham
- Angkor: The Khmers in Ancient Chinese Annals by P. Y. W. Chuen and W. Weng