Heritage site

Phnom Da

ភ្នំដា

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]

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

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. Photo: Tonbi ko, CC BY-SA 4.0

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]

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

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. Photo: Ismoon, CC BY-SA 4.0

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]

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

Stone steps climbing through dense green forest.
The stairway up the hill of Phnom Da, 2011. Photo: Martpan, CC BY-SA 3.0

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

References

  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 9 October 2026, at 03:34.