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ArchitecturePrasat Ta Muen Thom
Prasat Tamuenthom are 3 large prasats built with sandstone and laterite. The group of prasats consists of a large principle prasat with recessed corners located in a square diagram. In a room at the center enshrines a Shiva lingam which is a symbol of Shiva, the supreme deity of Shaivism in Brahminism. This Shiva lingam is adorned from a natural sandstone. Later a prasat was built to cover it. It is assumed that this is a lingam that naturally appeared, called "Swayambhu lingam", which is the most important of Shaivism. There are 4 doors and the southern door is connected to the porch in the front or the Mondop. It is divided into 3 booths and the roof is made of sandstone. The base engraved a pattern of a standing idol. A sandstone lintel engraved a deity sitting in a knee-high position above the Kala face who is spitting out a bunch of garland was also found.There are 2 smaller prasats built of sandstone located behind the left and right sides of the principle prasat. The diagram is a square with receded corners. The entrance and exit is on the south and the other 3 sides were made of false doors.There are 2 laterite Bannalais. One is located in the south side of the principle prasat in a rectangular diagram. The other one is located in the south-west side in a square diagram.The principle prasat, the other 2 prasats and the 2 Banalais are surrounded by a crooked balcony. The gopura was built of sandstone in a square diagram. There is a 1.40 meter wide corridor with a gate on all four sides. The northern, eastern and western arches are similar while the arch on the southern side is the largest and it is the main arch, divided into 3 booths. The central booth is in a cross-shape diagram. There is a window with a stone balustrade attached. There was a discovery of a stone inscription inscribed with ancient Khmer and Sanskrit letters which were used in the late 16th century B.E. The detail in the inscription praises Shiva and also refers to the names of the slaves and the guardians of this religious place. A sandstone pier was also found in the south about 10 meters away from the balcony, and the pond was lined with laterite down to the bottom. It is located in northwestern side of the crooked balcony.
ArchitecturePrasat Ta Muan Tot
Prasat Ta Muan Tot is a chapel “Arogayasala”. It was built to treat diseases during the reign of King Jayavarman VII during the 18th century B.E. The architectural elements of the Arogayasala are the same everywhere. There will be one principle prasat made of laterite and sandstone. It is a square diagram with recessed corners. The top part was carved with sandstone in the lotus petals pattern. There is only one entrance and exit, the other 3 sides are false doors. The entrance was made as a long room with a porch in the front. The roof was made of sandstone and laterite. There is a Banalai in a rectangular diagram built from sandstone and laterite on the east of the principle prasat. There is one entrance and exit. The eastern area is surrounded by an inner wall and under a laterite arch door that is divided into 3 booths. A stone inscription, built around the 18th century B.E., inscribed in Khmer letters, Sanskrit language was found around the booths and it is currently at Wachirayan Book Hall, Bangkok. The inscription mentioned Phra Phaisachayaguru, the Bodhisattva who granted people a healty life. It also stated that King Jayavarman VII donated materials and equipment and arranged staff to stay in the hospital as well. The north-eastern side of the prasat appears a pond.
ArchitecturePrasat Ta Muen
The diagram of Prasat Ta Muen is a characteristic of an archaeological site called "Dharamshala or a traveler's lodge" which King Jayavarman VII, around the 18th century, had ordered to build along the important routes throughout the kingdom. The place is a single prasat constructed with laterite and sandstone. The diagram is a square with recessed corners. The front of the prasat is a long room built of laterite. There is a door connected to the prasat on the west. This long room has one wall cut into a row of windows. Other walls were made of false windows. There is one entrance and exit on the east with a sandstone lintel carved into a Buddha image sitting cross-legged in a meditating position.
ArchitecturePrasat Ku Suantang
Prasat Kusuantang is a group of 3 prasats located on the same laterite base. There is only one stairway in front of the central prasat. These 3 prasats are made of bricks. They all are facing east and they were lined up in a north-south line. The central prasat is larger than the other two prasats. The prasat is in the added corners diagram with the principle corner being the largest. The eastern side of the prasat appears two bases which are assumed to be Banalai.The prasat has been restored. The prasat at the center is in perfect condition. The bottom base is a lotus base made of laterite. Next to it is the whole brick prasat with a porch protruding to the east. Nowadays, the protruding part of the porch has collapsed and only a door frame made of sandstone remains. The layout of the top part up until the peak still exist but not much detail can be seen.The top of the prasats on the side has almost completely collapsed. The northern prasat has a low laterite base. Next to that is a prasat the the whole building was made of bricks. There is an entrance and exit on the east side. Its roof partially collapsed and not much details left to study. The peak of the prasat in the south collapsed more The diagram of each prasat with an added corner pattern was popular during the 16th century B.E. onwards, but from the discovery of the lintel and the decoration of the Naga on the peak determined the age of this prasat that it should be around the 17th century B.E.
ArchitecturePrasat Mueang Khaek
Prasat Mueang Khaek is quite large. It was built with sandstone and bricks. Its diagram is rectangular and it is facing north. The important buildings are the principle prasat, 2 Banalais or repositories for scriptures, a curved balcony, an arch or gopura, an inner wall, a pond, and a small brick prasat.The layout of the site can be divided into 3 parts:The first part or the innermost consists of 3 prasats made of sandstone and bricks located on the same base. They are facing north. Only the principle prang has a porch or Mondop in the front which looks like an extension room. There are stairs at the front and at both sides. A sandstone sculpture base was also found at Garbhagriha of the principle prasat and the prasat behind the principle in the east. All three buildings are left with only the base and some parts of the buildings. What can still be found at the principle prasat are window portholes and Luk Ma Huad, decorative pillars at the door frame, sandstone door frame, and the Narai Bantomsin lintel on the top of the front door frame or the Mondop part.Next to the principle prang, there are two brick bases, one on the left and another one on the right, they both are facing the principle prasat. This could be a Viharns or a Banalais. The first part is surrounded by an inner wall made of bricks. The east side of the wall is a rectangular brick building with two entrances on the west and the north. The decorative pillars still remain at the door frame of the north gate.There is only one inner arch, or gopura at the front or the north side (with three gates), that the door frame and decorative pillars still remain. In addition, two more brick bases are found in the corner of the inner wall in front of the principle prasat beside the gopura or the inner arch. The building on the right has a brick paved walkway connecting the building parallel to the east inner wall.The second part is the outer wall. Most of the area was dug into a pond surrounding the site leaving only the center of the front part. The soil obtained from digging was used to make a wall around the inner wall and the pond. On the north side, there is a walkway that connects the innermost or the first part. The front part of the outer wall has a large arch, or a cross-shape gopura matched with the inner kopura (with three doors). Window portholes, Luk Ma Huad, and the sandstone door frame still remain. The third part is outside the outer wall towards the front or the north. There are 2 building bases made of laterite, sandstone and bricks on the left and the right. They are facing one another (The building on the right is facing west, the building on the left is facing east) The upper part may be built with wood. The base of both buildings has a rectangular diagram with a porch protruding towards the front. There are stairs leading up to the top of the base on all 4 sides surrounded by the wall with gopura at the front and at the back (The front one is larger) Inside the principle room of the western building, there are the Shiva lingam and Yoni sandstone base located at the center of the room. There is also a sandstone sculpture base located at the center of the room of the east building. From important evidences that were found from the excavations: the Shiva lingam, the base of Shiva lingam, a Uma Mahesavara carved gable. Indra on the Erawan elephant lintel, Narai Bantomsin lintel, the lintel of an angel sitting in the arch, Nandi sculpture, and 3 inscriptions, it can be assumed that this site was built in the religion of Shaivism in Brahminism, around the late of the 15th to the early of the 16th century B.E. in Koh Ker Arts - transform. The inscription indicates the AD 896 which is year 1028.
ArchitecturePrasat Narai Cheng Weng
Prasat Narai Cheng Weng is a single prasat and the whole prasat was built with sandstone which is a special feature because other prasats in the upper area of the Northeast often use other materials or mixed materials. Based on the details of the engravings and the use of materials, it can differentiate this prasat and other prasats in the same area such as Prasat Phra That Dum and other prasats inside Phra That Choeng Chum.The diagram of the prasat consists of a Garbhagriha room and a porch protruding to the east. There is only one door at the front. The other doors are false doors which usually could be seen in prasat in Baphuon Arts and Nakon Wat in northeastern Thailand. What is interesting about this prasat is that the Somasutras, a drainage channel still appears at the false gate on the north side. Most of the carvings depict stories in Vaishnavism such as Narai Bantomsin and Phra Krishna Prab Singh, etc. However, the central gable depicts Nataraja which shows that the prasat was built for Shaivism.
ArchitecturePrasat Nong Bua Rai
It consists of the principle prasat with an entrance facing east. The entrance is with a porch with one window porthole on each side of the porch. The top of the prasat has 4 layers with a decorative square. On the northeastern side, there is a Banalai or a repositorie for scriptures facing the principle prasat. In front of the principle prasat is a cross-shaped walkway extended until the gopura. In front of the president's castle there is a cross path that leads all the way to Gopura. All of these are surrounded by an inner wall.Around the nearby area, a piece of a gable was found with an image of the 4-arms Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva in a standing position. On the northeastern side, outside the inner wall is a pond in a rectangular diagram. This layout and construction patterns, such as the castle with porches and window porthole on both sides, can be found at other archaeological sites such as at Ku Santarat. Mahasarakham province or at Prasat Ta Muan Tot, Surin province, etc.
ArchitecturePrang Ku
Prang Ku is another archaeological site that has the same layout and characteristics as the Arogayasala archaeological site. The evidence that proves that it was built in the 18th century B.E. is the layout with one Principle prang in the middle, one Banalais or repositories for scriptures in the front surrounded by a wall with gopura only in the front. All were built with laterite except the door frame, lintels, and decorative pillars that are sandstone. They are facing east. There is one pond in the north- east of the prang that is still in a perfect condition. The principle prang is a 5 meter square with 12 wooden recess corners. There is a front door at the front with a porch while the other 3 sides are false doors. There is a Buddha image at the center of the prang sitting cross- legged in a meditating position. Both hands of the image are holding a garland. On both left and right sides of the images are the 4-arms Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva and Prachya Paramita. The front has a lintel with possibly the same images but they are very faded. There is also a stone Buddha image sitting cross- legged in a meditating position at the false door on the north. The image is in Dvaravati Arts. It is 1.75 meters high and the lap is 7.5 meters wide. This image was transferred from another place.
