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Angkor Wat: Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for

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Angkor Wat

The main entrance to the temple proper, seen from the eastern end of the Naga causeway.

A source of great national pride, Angkor Wat has been depicted in Cambodian national flags
since 1863

Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia, built for

the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-
preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre
since its foundation—first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is the
epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,
appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and
the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such
as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology:
within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each
raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most
Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the
significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its
extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas (guardian spirits) adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple"; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word
nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital. wat is the Khmer word for
temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the posthumous title of
its founder, Suryavarman II.[1]

Angkor Wat is the southernmost temple of Angkor's main group of sites.

An 1866 photograph of Angkor Wat by Emile Gsell

Angkor Wat lies 5.5 km north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and
slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred on the Baphuon. It is in an area of
Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of
Angkor's main sites.
The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century,
during the reign of Suryavarman II (ruled 1113 – c. 1150). Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as
the king's state temple and capital city. As neither the foundation stela nor any contemporary
inscriptions referring to the temple have been found, its original name is unknown, but it may
have been known as Vrah Vishnulok after the presiding deity. Work seems to have ended shortly
after the king's death, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.[2] In 1177,
approximately 27 years after the death of Suryavarman II, Angkor was sacked by the Chams, the
traditional enemies of the Khmer. Thereafter the empire was restored by a new king, Jayavarman
VII, who established a new capital and state temple (Angkor Thom and the Bayon respectively) a
few kilometres to the north.

In the late 13th century, King Jayavarman VIII, who was Hindu, was deposed by his son in law,
Srindravarman. Srindravarman had spent the previous 10 years in Sri Lanka becoming ordained
as a Buddhist monk. Hence, the new King decided to convert the official religion of the empire
from Hindu to Buddhist. Given the constant political corruption of the time, citizens were quick
to follow a faith founded on tranquility without a need for material gain and power. This made
[3]
the conversion relatively easy. Hence, Angkor Wat was converted from Hindu to Theravada
Buddhist use, which continues to the present day. Angkor Wat is unusual among the Angkor
temples in that although it was somewhat neglected after the 16th century it was never
completely abandoned, its preservation being due in part to the fact that its moat also provided
some protection from encroachment by the jungle.[4]

One of the first Western visitors to the temple was Antonio da Magdalena, a Portuguese monk
who visited in 1586 and said that it "is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to
describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and
decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of".[5] However, the
temple was popularised in the West only in the mid-19th century on the publication of Henri
Mouhot's travel notes. The French explorer wrote of it:

"One of these temples—a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michelangelo—might
take an honourable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by
Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now
plunged."[6]

Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, was unable to believe that the Khmers could have built
the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor
Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the
subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site.

There were no ordinary dwellings or houses or other signs of settlement including cooking
utensils weapons or items of clothing usually found at ancient sites. Instead there is the evidence
of the monuments themselves. [7]

Angkor Wat required considerable restoration in the 20th century, mainly the removal of
accumulated earth and vegetation.[8] Work was interrupted by the civil war and Khmer Rouge
control of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, but relatively little damage was done during
this period other than the theft and destruction of mostly post-Angkorian statues.[9]

The temple has become a symbol of Cambodia, and is a source of great national pride. A
depiction of Angkor Wat has been a part of Cambodian national flags since the introduction of
the first version circa 1863.[10] In January 2003 riots erupted in Phnom Penh when a false rumour
circulated that a Thai soap opera actress had claimed that Angkor Wat belonged to Thailand.[11]

Angkor Wat, located at Coordinates: , is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the
standard design for the empire's state temples, the later plan of concentric galleries, and
influences from Orissa and the Chola of Tamil Nadu, India. The temple is a representation of
Mount Meru, the home of the gods: the central quincunx of towers symbolises the five peaks of
the mountain, and the walls and moat the surrounding mountain ranges and ocean.[12] Access to
the upper areas of the temple was progressively more exclusive, with the laity being admitted
only to the lowest level.[13]

Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east. This has led
many (including Glaize and George Coedès) to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve
as his funerary temple.[14] Further evidence for this view is provided by the bas-reliefs, which
proceed in a counter-clockwise direction—prasavya in Hindu terminology—as this is the reverse
of the normal order. Rituals take place in reverse order during Brahminic funeral services. [8] The
archaeologist Charles Higham also describes a container which may have been a funerary jar
which was recovered from the central tower. [15] It has been nominated by some as the greatest
[16]
expenditure of energy on the disposal of a corpse. Freeman and Jacques, however, note that
several other temples of Angkor depart from the typical eastern orientation, and suggest that
Angkor Wat's alignment was due to its dedication to Vishnu, who was associated with the west.
[12]

A further interpretation of Angkor Wat has been proposed by Eleanor Mannikka. Drawing on the
temple's alignment and dimensions, and on the content and arrangement of the bas-reliefs, she
argues that these indicate a claimed new era of peace under king Suryavarman II: "as the
measurements of solar and lunar time cycles were built into the sacred space of Angkor Wat, this
divine mandate to rule was anchored to consecrated chambers and corridors meant to perpetuate
the king's power and to honor and placate the deities manifest in the heavens above." [17][18]
Mannikka's suggestions have been received with a mixture of interest and scepticism in
academic circles.[15] She distances herself from the speculations of others, such as Graham
Hancock, that Angkor Wat is part of a representation of the constellation Draco.[19]

The north-west tower of the inner gallery at sunset


[edit] Style

Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture—the Angkor Wat
style—to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled
and confident in the use of sandstone (rather than brick or laterite) as the main building material.
Most of the visible areas are of sandstone blocks, while laterite was used for the outer wall and
for hidden structural parts. The binding agent used to join the blocks is yet to be identified,
although natural resins or slaked lime have been suggested.[20]

Angkor Wat has drawn praise above all for the harmony of its design, which has been compared
to the architecture of ancient Greece or Rome. According to Maurice Glaize, a mid-20th-century
conservator of Angkor, the temple "attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality
of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of
power, unity and style."[21]

Architecturally, the elements characteristic of the style include: the ogival, redented towers
shaped like lotus buds; half-galleries to broaden passageways; axial galleries connecting
enclosures; and the cruciform terraces which appear along the main axis of the temple. Typical
decorative elements are devatas (or apsaras), bas-reliefs, and on pediments extensive garlands
and narrative scenes. The statuary of Angkor Wat is considered conservative, being more static
and less graceful than earlier work.[22] Other elements of the design have been destroyed by
looting and the passage of time, including gilded stucco on the towers, gilding on some figures
on the bas-reliefs, and wooden ceiling panels and doors.[23]

The Angkor Wat style was followed by that of the Bayon period, in which quality was often
sacrificed to quantity.[24] Other temples in the style are Banteay Samré, Thommanon, Chao Say
Tevoda and the early temples of Preah Pithu at Angkor; outside Angkor, Beng Mealea and parts
of Phanom Rung and Phimai.

[edit] Features
Aerial view of Angkor Wat

[edit] Outer enclosure

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground
and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone
causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a
wooden bridge.[25] There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is much the
largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both hides and echoes the form
of the temple proper.[26] Under the southern tower is a statue of Vishnu, known as Ta Reach,
which may originally have occupied the temple's central shrine.[25] Galleries run between the
towers and as far as two further entrances on either side of the gopura often referred to as
"elephant gates", as they are large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square
pillars on the outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between the
pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with dancing figures; and the
east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing male figures on prancing animals, and
devatas, including (south of the entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth.
The Temple viewed from the northwest

The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres), which besides the temple
proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. Like
all secular buildings of Angkor, these were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so
nothing remains of them except the outlines of some of the streets.[27] Most of the area is now
covered by forest. A 350 m causeway connects the western gopura to the temple proper, with
naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the city on either side. Each side also
features a library with entrances at each cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the
entrance, and a pond between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to
the design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to the central
structure.[28]

[edit] Central structure

This model of Angkor Wat shows intact the half-galleries of the lower level and towers at the
corners of the second-level galleries.

The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries
rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as
being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.[2] Each gallery has a gopura at each
of the points, and the two inner galleries each have towers at their corners, forming a quincunx
with the central tower. Because the temple faces west, the features are all set back towards the
east, leaving more space to be filled in each enclosure and gallery on the west side; for the same
reason the west-facing steps are shallower than those on the other sides.

The outer gallery measures 187 by 215 m, with pavilions rather than towers at the corners. The
gallery is open to the outside of the temple, with columned half-galleries extending and
buttressing the structure. Connecting the outer gallery to the second enclosure on the west side is
a cruciform cloister called Preah Poan (the "Hall of a Thousand Buddhas"). Buddha images
were left in the cloister by pilgrims over the centuries, although most have now been removed.
This area has many inscriptions relating the good deeds of pilgrims, most written in Khmer but
others in Burmese and Japanese. The four small courtyards marked out by the cloister may
originally have been filled with water.[29] North and south of the cloister are libraries.

Beyond, the second and inner galleries are connected to each other and to two flanking libraries
by another cruciform terrace, again a later addition. From the second level upwards, devatas
abound on the walls, singly or in groups of up to four. The second-level enclosure is 100 by 115
m, and may originally have been flooded to represent the ocean around Mount Meru.[30] Three
sets of steps on each side lead up to the corner towers and gopuras of the inner gallery. The very
steep stairways represent the difficulty of ascending to the kingdom of the gods. [31] This inner
gallery, called the Bakan, is a 60 m square with axial galleries connecting each gopura with the
central shrine, and subsidiary shrines located below the corner towers. The roofings of the
galleries are decorated with the motif of the body of a snake ending in the heads of lions or
garudas. Carved lintels and pediments decorate the entrances to the galleries and to the shrines.
The tower above the central shrine rises 43 m to a height of 65 m above the ground; unlike those
of previous temple mountains, the central tower is raised above the surrounding four. [32] The
shrine itself, originally occupied by a statue of Vishnu and open on each side, was walled in
when the temple was converted to Theravada Buddhism, the new walls featuring standing
Buddhas. In 1934, the conservator George Trouvé excavated the pit beneath the central shrine:
filled with sand and water it had already been robbed of its treasure, but he did find a sacred
foundation deposit of gold leaf two metres above ground level.[33]

[edit] Decoration
The bas-relief of the Churning of the Sea of Milk shows Vishnu in the centre, his turtle avatar
Kurma below, asuras and devas to left and right, and apsaras and Indra above.

Integrated with the architecture of the building, and one of the causes for its fame is Angkor
Wat's extensive decoration, which predominantly takes the form of bas-relief friezes. The inner
walls of the outer gallery bear a series of large-scale scenes mainly depicting episodes from the
Hindu epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Higham has called these, "the greatest known
linear arrangement of stone carving".[34] From the north-west corner anti-clockwise, the western
gallery shows the Battle of Lanka (from the Ramayana, in which Rama defeats Ravana) and the
Battle of Kurukshetra (from the Mahabharata, showing the mutual annihilation of the Kaurava
and Pandava clans). On the southern gallery follow the only historical scene, a procession of
Suryavarman II, then the 32 hells and 37 heavens of Hindu mythology.

Devatas are characteristic of the Angkor Wat style.

Glaize writes of;

"... those unfortunate souls who are to be thrown down to hell to suffer a refined cruelty which, at times,
seems to be a little disproportionate to the severity of the crimes committed. So it is that people who have
damaged others' property have their bones broken, that the glutton is cleaved in two, that rice thieves are
afflicted with enormous bellies of hot iron, that those who picked the flowers in the garden of Shiva have
their heads pierced with nails, and thieves are exposed to cold discomfort." [35]

On the eastern gallery is one of the most celebrated scenes, the Churning of the Sea of Milk,
showing 92[36] asuras and 88 devas using the serpent Vasuki to churn the sea under Vishnu's
direction (Mannikka counts only 91 asuras, and explains the asymmetrical numbers as
representing the number of days from the winter solstice to the spring equinox, and from the
equinox to the summer solstice).[37] It is followed by Vishnu defeating asuras (a 16th-century
addition). The northern gallery shows Krishna's victory over Bana (where according to Glaize,
"The workmanship is at its worst"[38]) and a battle between the Hindu gods and asuras. The north-
west and south-west corner pavilions both feature much smaller-scale scenes, some unidentified
but most from the Ramayana or the life of Krishna.

[edit] Construction techniques

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid without mortar with very tight joints that
were sometimes hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and tenon joints in some
cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The blocks were presumably put in place
by a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding. Henri Mouhot noted
that most of the blocks had holes 2.5 cm in diameter and 3 cm deep, with more holes on the
larger blocks. Some scholars have suggested that these were used to join them together with iron
rods, but others claim they were used to hold temporary pegs to help manoeuver them into place.
The Khmer architects never made the curved arches used by the Romans. They did create a
corbelled arch, but this often proved unstable and collapsed.

The monument was made out of enormous amounts of sandstone, as much as Khafre's pyramid
in Egypt (over 5 million tons). This sandstone had to be transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry
approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the northeast. The stone was presumably transported by raft
along the Siem Reap river. This would have to have been done with care to avoid overturning the
rafts with such a large amount of weight. One modern engineer estimated it would take 300 years
to complete Angkor Wat today.[39] Yet the monument was begun soon after Suryavarman came to
the throne and was finished shortly after his death, no more than 40 years.
Virtually all of its surfaces, columns, lintels even roofs are carved. There are miles of reliefs
illustrating scenes from Indian literature including unicorns, griffins, winged dragons pulling
chariots as well as warriors following an elephant mounted leader and celestial dancing girls with
elaborate hair styles. The gallery wall alone is decorated with almost 1,000 square meters of bas
reliefs. Holes on some of the Angkor walls indicate that they may have been decorated with
bronze sheets. These were highly prized in ancient times and were a prime target for robbers.
While excavating Khajuraho, Alex Evans, a stone mason and sculptor, recreated a stone
[40]
sculpture under 4 feet (1.2 m), this took about 60 days to carve. Roger Hopkins and Mark
Lehner also conducted experiments to quarry limestone which took 12 quarrymen 22 days to
[41]
quarry about 400 tons of stone. The labour force to quarry, transport, carve and install this
much sandstone must have run into the thousands including many highly skilled artisans. The
skill required to carve these sculptures was developed hundreds of years earlier, as demonstrated
by some artifacts found that were dated to the seventh century before the Khmer came into
power. [42] [43]...

This model of Angkor Wat is designed to give tourists an overview of the site. In the foreground
is depicted the cruciform terrace which lies in front of the central structure.

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and
1992. [1] Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive
increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992,
which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the
site.[44] The German Apsara Conservation Project (GACP) is working to protect the devatas and
other bas-reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The organisation's survey found that
around 20% of the devatas were in very poor condition, mainly because of natural erosion and
deterioration of the stone but in part also due to earlier restoration efforts. [45] Other work involves
the repair of collapsed sections of the structure, and prevention of further collapse: the west
facade of the upper level, for example, has been buttressed by scaffolding since 2002, [46] while a
Japanese team completed restoration of the north library of the outer enclosure in 2005. [47] World
Monuments Fund began work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008.

Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures
suggest that, respectively, 561,000 and 677,000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province,
approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. [48] The influx of tourists
has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti; ropes and wooden steps have
been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided
some additional funds for maintenance—as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across
the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples—although most work is carried out by foreign
government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities. [49]

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