Heritage site

Phnom Da

Phnom Da (ភ្នំដា) is a granite hill near Angkor Borei in Takeo Province, Cambodia, the site of some of the oldest Khmer temples.[1][2] Its sculptures may be the earliest Cambodian stone statues.[3][4]

A small brick and laterite temple tower on a granite hill above flooded plains
Illustration inspired by the hill temple above flooded plains.

History

Phnom Da rises about 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the town of Angkor Borei.[5] Together the two sites belong to the ancient Funan landscape of southern Cambodia near the Vietnamese border. A canal linked them to the port of Óc Eo in the Mekong Delta.[3][6] Angkor Borei was a capital of Funan, a kingdom with sea links to India and China.[3][7] Phnom Da belongs to the pre-Angkorian age of Funan and the later Chenla period.[6]

The statues are dated to the sixth or seventh century, and the Angkor Database notes that their dates are debated.[4] The temple standing on the hill was built around the eleventh century on foundations from the Funan period.[7][5][8]

Architecture and layout

The principal temple is about 12 meters (39 feet) square and 18 meters (59 feet) high, and its roof is damaged.[6] Its entrance faces north toward Angkor Borei; the other three sides carry false doors.[2] The builders laid laterite in the lower courses and brick above, and carved the door frames and ornament in sandstone.[6]

A small square stone sanctuary with a tiered roof on a rocky slope among trees.
Asram Maha Rosei, the stone sanctuary near Phnom Da, 2016.

Nearby stands the smaller Ashram Maha Rosei, about 5.5 meters (18 feet) square and 7 meters (23 feet) high, built of large basalt blocks, a stone rarely used in Khmer architecture.[6] Artificial caves cut into the hill served as further sanctuaries, each once holding a linga and yoni.[2]

Art and inscriptions

The sculptures found at Phnom Da define a pre-Angkorian style that bears its name, the Phnom Da style.[2] Three statues from the site stand in the National Museum of Cambodia: an eight-armed Vishnu and his avatars Rama and Balarama. Andy Brouwer of the Angkor Database writes that they are not a triad, though the same artists probably carved all three. The Vishnu bears the name Hari Kambujendra, from a later inscription found at the temple.[4] Other works from the site include a Harihara and Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan.[8][1] The sculptures show Indian influence, which the French scholar George Groslier called Greco-Gupta,[3] and the Khmer carvers made them as freestanding figures, supported by an arch or struts, for the first time.[4] In the sixth century the sculptors of Angkor Borei made sandstone their medium and developed a local carving tradition.[1] A Harihara from Ashram Maha Rosei is now in the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.[9]

Three standing sandstone statues on plinths, a large eight-armed figure in the center.
Statues of Vishnu, Rama and Balarama from Phnom Da in the National Museum of Cambodia, 2021.

Inscriptions in Khmer and Sanskrit tie the sanctuaries to the reign of King Rudravarman (514 to 539).[1]

Significance and conservation

Phnom Da and Angkor Borei are on Cambodia's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage. Voyage Cambodge dates the listing to 1992, and Cambodianess to 2020.[2][5] In 2025 the director of the National Museum of Cambodia, who leads the effort, said the nomination documents were expected to go to UNESCO in early 2027.[7] A panel in the Angkor Borei museum records that some artifacts found during road construction in 2012 were stolen.[5] A United States cultural preservation grant has supported the recording and protection of its sixth- and seventh-century monuments.[9]

Visiting

Visitors climb the hill by a stairway, passing five man-made caves that hold statues surrounded by offerings.[5]

Stone steps climbing through dense green forest.
The stairway up the hill of Phnom Da, 2011.

References 9
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Asian Art Newspaper, Krishna Govardhana: A Journey to Cambodia (November 26, 2021)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Voyage Cambodge, Phnom Da
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Cambodianess, Ky Chamna, Picture of the Day: Vishnu and the Phnom Da Art Style (March 14, 2026)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Angkor Database, Andy Brouwer, Vishnu, Rama, Balarama - Phnom Da (October 25, 2021)
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Cambodianess, Elise Roy, Visiting the Angkor Borei Museum and Phnom Da Temple Site (August 10, 2025)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Angkor Temples in Cambodia, Phnom Da
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Cambodianess, Rin Ousa, Documentation Starts for UNESCO Nomination of Phnom Da and Angkor Borei (May 8, 2025)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Hello Angkor, Phnom Da Temple (updated January 1, 2026)
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Khmer Times, Phnom Da: Preserving the Funan Era
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This page was last edited on 22 October 2026, at 01:18.