Heritage site
Baksei Chamkrong
Baksei Chamkrong is a tenth-century temple-mountain at Angkor. It stands at the foot of Phnom Bakheng.[1] It lies 150 m (490 ft) north of Phnom Bakheng's main axial stairway.[2] Glaize's entry carries the epigraph “The bird that shelters under its wing”.[2]
History
George Coedès names Harshavarman I as the founder.[1] Glaize dates the golden image of Shiva mentioned in the door-jamb inscriptions to 947, during the reign of Rajendravarman.[2] The two sources give different founders and dates. H. Marchal cleared the temple in 1919.[2]
Architecture
The laterite pyramid has four tiers and a stairway on each side. Its base is 27 m (89 ft) across, narrowing to 15 m (49 ft) at the summit, with a total height of 13 m (43 ft).[2]
A brick sanctuary tower, 8 m (26 ft) on each side, rests on a sandstone base and opens to the east. At the center of the eastern lintel, Indra rides an elephant with three heads. A later reclining Buddha is inside the tower. The remains of the eastern gateway include sandstone steps.[2]
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