Consideration of the Construction Period of the Khmer Temples along the East Royal Road to Preah Khan of Kompong Svay and the Provenance of Sandstone Blocks Based on Their Magnetic Susceptibility

Etsuo Uchida, Ichita Shimoda, Mariko Shimoda

Department of Architecture, Faculty of Science and Engineering,Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering,Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
World Heritage Studies, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences,University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ad.2013.12004                

Abstract

To the east of the Angkor monuments, there is a royal road that connects the Angkor area to provincial Khmer cities that include Beng Mealea and Preah Khan of Kompong Svay. Khmer buildings known as Temples d’étape and Fire Shrines are placed approximately every 15 km along this east royal road. In this paper, we investigate the magnetic susceptibility and other characteristics of the sandstone blocks used to construct these buildings in conjunction with their architectural characteristics. As a result, we reconfirmed that the Temples d’étape and Fire Shrines have been constructed during the early Angkor Wat pe- riod and the late Bayon period, respectively. In addition, it was revealed that most of the sandstone blocks used in these buildings along the east royal road were likely supplied from quarries at the southeastern foot of Mt. Kulen. However, we consider that the sandstone blocks used in the buildings of Preah Khan of Kompong Svay, except its central part, the Temple d’étape at Prasat Trapeang Chambok and the Fire Shrine at Prasat Supheap Tbong, were supplied from quarries surrounding Preah Khan of Kompong Svay.

Keywords

Angkor Monuments; Sandstone; Magnetic Susceptibility; Fire Shrine; Temple D’étape; Royal Road; Provenance; Construction Period

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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