Heritage site
Ta Keo
ប្រាសាទតាកែវ
Ta Keo (ប្រាសាទតាកែវ) is an unfinished temple mountain at Angkor, east of Angkor Thom (ក្រុងអង្គរធំ) and west of the East Baray.[1][2] Its builders raised a stepped pyramid of five levels with five sandstone towers on top, but stopped soon after the carving had begun, so most of its surfaces are bare.[3][1] The APSARA National Authority (អាជ្ញាធរជាតិអប្សរា) describes it as in an excellent state of conservation.[3]
History
Inscriptions give the temple's first name as Hemaśṛṅgagiri, "the mountain with a golden peak".[2][1] Building began in the late 10th century under King Jayavarman V (968 to 1001), as the Pre Rup style was giving way to the Khleang style, and the temple was dedicated to Shiva.[2] Hello Angkor bases the dedication on a statue of the bull Nandi, Shiva's mount, found at the site, which stands in the east courtyard.[1] After Jayavarman V, work went on under Jayaviravarman and then Suryavarman I (ព្រះបាទសូរ្យវម៌្មទី១), but the temple was left unfinished after three reigns.[2]
Inscriptions on the door jambs of the east gateways record gifts to the temple, not its founding, and date from 1007.[3] One of them, K. 275, names Yogishvarapandita, the guru of Suryavarman I. Another, K. 276, records that lightning struck the temple and that a ceremony was then held against what was taken as a fatal omen.[1]
Why it was never finished
The reason the carving stopped is not known.[3] APSARA sets out three explanations that researchers have offered. The lightning strike may have been read as a bad omen, so the work was halted. The greyish-green sandstone is much harder than the stone of many other temples and was very hard to carve. Disputes over the throne after Jayavarman V's reign, up to the rise of Suryavarman I, may also have left the builders short of workers and resources.[2] Hello Angkor also mentions the view that the rulers simply lost interest.[1]
Because so much is uncarved, the temple shows the stages of Angkorian building, from blocks set in place to faces made ready for carving.[2] Jin Zhaoyu, an engineer with the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, told Xinhua that its unfinished state shows the building process like "slices of time".[4]
The temple
The pyramid is 22 meters (72 feet) high. Its first two levels hold two courtyards, the outer one closed by a plain wall and the inner one by a gallery. The top three levels form a solid base for the five towers, set one at each corner and one in the middle.[3] The outer wall measures 120 by 100 meters (394 by 328 feet) and is of sandstone on a laterite base, and the three top tiers rise 14 meters (46 feet).[3] APSARA calls Ta Keo the first temple of this kind built in sandstone after Phnom Bakheng, which stands on a natural hill.[3]
Each enclosure has a gateway on each of its four sides, and the main entrance faces east. Two long halls stand in the east part of the outer courtyard. Two more halls and a pair of west-facing libraries stand in the inner courtyard.[1] The towers are cross-shaped, with a door on each side. A few keep some carving under the inner eaves, and Buddha images from a later period have been placed in the central sanctuary.[1]
The way in was from the east, along a paved causeway across a moat, with lions at its start.[3] In 2022 APSARA cleared this old eastern approach.[1]
Restoration
Restoration paid for by China began on November 27, 2010. Bun Narith, director general of the APSARA Authority, said the work would run from 2011 to 2018 and cost 40 million yuan (about US$6 million). It followed three years of studies by Chinese and Cambodian experts and was the second Chinese project at Angkor, after the temple of Chau Say Tevoda.[5] Over eight years, Chinese specialists in mapping, geology, archaeology, architecture and biology worked with Cambodian colleagues. They used 3D laser scanning and drones to build a digital model of the temple, and used it to match fallen stones to their places.[4] Nuth Poeng led the Cambodian technicians on the project.[4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Hello Angkor, Ta Keo Temple (updated January 1, 2026)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 APSARA National Authority, Discover the History and Unique Features of Takeo Temple (July 15, 2026; in Khmer and English)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 APSARA National Authority, Ta Keo (August 12, 2021)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Xinhua, Mao Pengfei and Nguon Sovan, Ta Keo temple at Angkor comes alive by fusion of Chinese, Cambodian expertise (January 30, 2019)
- ↑ Xinhua, Nguon Sovan, Restoration of Ta Keo temple begins in Angkor Archaeological Park (November 27, 2010), as reposted on the Khmerization blog