Banteay Kdei
Prasat Banteay Kdei The Citadel of Chambers | |
---|---|
Avalokitesvara, Buddhist Temple | |
Location | |
Location | Angkor |
Country | Cambodia |
Geographic coordinates | 13°25′47″N 103°53′54″E / 13.42972°N 103.89833°E |
Architecture | |
Creator | Jayavarman VII |
Completed | 12th to 13th centuries |
Monument(s) | Several |
Banteay Kdei (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយក្តី; Prasat Banteay Kdei, lit. 'A Citadel of Chambers'),[1] also known as "Citadel of Monks' cells",[2] is a Buddhist temple in Angkor, Cambodia. It is located southeast of Ta Prohm and east of Angkor Thom. Built in the mid-12th to early 13th centuries AD during the reign of Jayavarman VII (who was posthumously given the title "Maha paramasangata pada"[3]), it is in the Bayon architectural style, similar in plan to Ta Prohm and Preah Khan, but less complex and smaller. Its structures are contained within two successive enclosure walls, and consist of two concentric galleries from which emerge towers, preceded to the east by a cloister.[4][5]
This Buddhist monastic complex is currently dilapidated due to faulty construction and poor quality of sandstone used in its buildings, and is now undergoing renovation. Banteay Kdei had been occupied by monks at various intervals over the centuries until the 1960s.[4][6]
Geography
The Banteay Kdei, one of the many
History of srah srang
The name Banteay Kdei originates from an earlier name, Kuti, which is mentioned in the
The
Jayavarman VII had come to power at the age of 55 after defeating
In the 13th century, most of the temples built by Jayavarman were vandalised. However, some of the
The temple, which for several centuries after the Khmer reign ended, remained neglected and covered with vegetation. It was exposed after clearing the surrounding overgrowth of vegetation in 1920–1922. This work was carried out under the guidance of Henri Marchal (then Conservator of Angkor) and Ch. Battuer, by adopting a conservation principle which was known as "the principle of anastylosis, which was being employed very effectively by the Dutch authorities in Indonesia".[11] It was partially occupied by Buddhist monks till the 1960s.[12]
For ten years till March 2002, Sophia University Mission or the Sophia Mission of Japan carried out several Archaeological research at the Banteay Kdei temple. During these investigations, a cache of fragments of 274 Buddhist statues made in sandstone, along with a few metal art pieces, were unearthed, in 2001. Plans to build a storage room to house the statues was also planned.[13][14]
Layout
The sacred temple complex is cloistered and packed in a space of 65 m × 50 m (213 ft × 164 ft) with three enclosures within a large compound wall of size 700 m × 300 m (2,300 ft × 980 ft), made of
- External enclosure
The external enclosure with four concentric walls, has four gopuras similar to the Ta Prohm temple, and all are in some degree of preserved status. At the four corners, the gopuras have a fascia of Lokesvara (Buddhist deity, Avalokitesvara) mounted over Garuda images (it is also mentioned that the smiling faces are of King Jayavarman II, similar to those seen in the Beyan temple[15]). The east facing gopura, in particular, has well-preserved garuda images on its corners. Two hundred meters from the west entrance of this enclosure leads to a moat, which is decorated with statues of lions and naga-balustrades mounted on garudas. The moat itself has in its precincts the third enclosure which measures 320 m × 300 m (1,050 ft × 980 ft), also enclosed with laterite walls.[12][14] The Buddha image at the entrance to the moat, near the second interior gate, is well preserved, considering the fact that most of the other statues have been destroyed or stolen.[10]
- Third enclosure
The third enclosure has a gopura which has a cruciform plan. It has pillars which are crossed by vaults. There are three passages in this enclosure, two on either side are independent, with laterite walls. The niches here have small figurines, and large apsara devatas in single poses or in pairs of dancing poses. Large Buddha images, in an internal courtyard of this enclosure, have been defaced by vandals. A paved access from here leads to the main shrine, which comprises two galleried enclosures. At the entrance to these enclosures, from the eastern end, is the "Hall of Dancers", which has four open courtyards and the pillars have fine carvings of apsaras.[12]
- Second enclosure
The second enclosure, which is part of the main temple, measures 58 m × 50 m (190 ft × 164 ft). It has a gopura on its eastern side and also subsidiary gopura on the west. Entrance doors are at the northern and southern ends.[4] The gopura is built like a gallery with one exterior wall and double row of pillars which open into a courtyard and which has mostly shored up walls with small openings at the bottom to allow air circulation. The niches here are decorated with images of apsaras, and a Buddha statue in the central hall has been defaced by vandals. Bayon style architectural features built-in are the "balustered false windows with lowered blinds and devatas with headdresses in the form of small flaming discs set in a triangle." The vaults built in sandstone and laterite have collapsed at several locations of the gallery.[12] The inner enclosures contain library building to its north and south and also a central sanctuary.[7]
- Inner enclosure
The inner enclosure of the main temple is built on a 36 m × 30 m (118 ft × 98 ft) layout plan. This enclosure has four corner towers abutted by small gopuras. Galleries running along an axis link these towers to the main sanctuary. The towers at the north-east and south-east are linked with the second gallery where a Buddha statue in a sitting posture is seen, in the backdrop of an open sky line. The sanctum which is 2.75 m (9.0 ft) square enclosure has some traces of statues of deities. This entire enclosure, however, is not built in Bayon style and hence conjectured to be of an earlier period. Remnants of wooden ceiling are also seen here. The entrance to the sanctum is flanked by
- Srah Srang
Architectural features
Some specific architectural features which evolved with the Bayon style are clearly discerned in this temple. The roof is supported on free-standing pillars in the eastern and western pavilions in the third enclosure, built in a cruciform plan with the inner row of pillars supporting the roof. The pillars are also tied to the wall by a tie beam using a "mortise–and–tenon join" patterned on wooden structures. Other features noted are of the four central pillars in the western pavilion which have been strengthened with temporary supports of laterite stone block pillars. Carvings of Buddha are seen on all these pillars but mostly defaced. The temporary support system provided to the roof built on free standing pillars is indicative of problems of design seen in the temples built during this period.[16]
Restoration
Laser scans and imaging of the Banteay Kdei and Angkor Wat Western Causeway were performed within a project launched in March 2004 by the University of California and Sophia University of Tokyo, in partnership with the nonprofit CyArk. The obtained information has facilitated restoration and reconstruction of these structures, which is funded by the Sophia University, and much publicly accessible data from the project is hosted on the CyArk Website. The APSARA Authority has achieved significant improvements in conservation and preservation of monuments in Angkor.[5] Some of the towers and corridors are under restoration and as a result some locations have been cordoned off.[17] Strengthening measures are seen in some parts of the interior temple area where structures in danger are tied together with cables.[10]
Gallery
References
- ^ a b Maurice Glaize. "The Monuments of The Angkor Group" (PDF). Banteay Kdei. site-archeologique-khmer.org. pp. 10, 149–152.
- ^ ]
- ^ Glaize, p. 149
- ^ )
- ^ a b c d "Angkor". Banteay Kdei Description. Angkor digital media archive. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-85828-837-6. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-906098-15-5. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
- ^ Glaize, p.10
- ^ ISBN 978-0-470-49778-4. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "World Heritage List No 667 Angkor" (PDF). Unesco.org. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Glaize, pp. 149–151
- ^ "Ninth Plenary Session" (PDF). unesco.org. pp. 15/72–15/73. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ a b c "Banteay Kdei". APSARA Authority in association with Swiss agency for Development and Cooperation. Archived from the original on March 17, 2005. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-74179-426-7. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ISBN 978-9971-69-405-0. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
- ^ "Angkor Temple Guide: Banteay Kdei". Canbypublications.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
External links
External links
Geographic data related to Banteay Kdei at OpenStreetMap
- Angkor digital media archive – Photos, laser scans, panoramas of Angkor Wat and Banteay Kdei from a CyArk/Sophia University/University of California partnership.