There are over a hundred major temple sites to be visited in and around Siem Reap-the remains in brick and stone of cities that were built by a succession of Khmer Kings between the 9th and 13th centuries. All other civic and domestic buildings were built in timber and so have long since disappeared. Not much is known therefore about the lives of the civilians, although the remnants of the vast irrigation system that sustained the population and some 1,200 inscriptions found throughout the country indicate the size and complexity of the civilization.
Brick was mainly used for the earlier temples, with increasing use then being made of laterite, a rust colored mud stone, and finally of sandstone, which was mostly quarried from the Kulen hills, 40 kilometers to the north-east of Siem Reap. Many were built as temple mountains or pyramids, symbolic of the cosmic Mount Meru of Hindu mythology. The five tiered mountain at the center of the universe (the temple), was said to be encircled by seven chains of mountains (the enclosure walls) which were surrounded in turn by the sea (the moat).
The map above indicates that major accessible sites, which are listed overleaf in chronological order. Dates given are those of the Theft and vandalism now present the most serious physical threat to the monuments. While formerly mostly concerned with routine site maintenance, the Angkor Conservation Office is instead finding itself preoccupied with the increasingly organized looting of the sites. Statues and carvings that give vitality to the temples are stolen, and so others have to be removed for safekeeping. All proceeds from this guide (which is for sale for one dollar and should not be photo-copied) go to help the Conservation Office - the unfortunately is not open to visitors. All information is from research by the Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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