Architecture of Angkor Wat Phy Phearak Language Advisor – Senior lecturer S.V. Roshal Belgorod Shukhov State Technological University Built in 12th Century, at Angkor in Cambodia, the Angkor Wat temple is an excellent example of the classical Khmer architecture that had reached the peak of perfection by that time. The temple is seen on the national flag of Cambodia and is a major tourist attraction of the country.
Angkor is a rich cultural site, and is located about 5.5 km north of the present town of Siem Reap in Cambodia. It is rich in ancient structures, the most important of them being the Angkor Wat (temple). Angkor Wat was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II, as his state temple in the capital city of Angkor. It was dedicated to the Hindu God, Vishnu. The temple took 37 years to be built and had turned the people of the kingdom into slaves who worked hard to raise the temple. Though, initially a Hindu temple, it became an important Buddhist religious center, under the rule of Srindravarman who adopted Buddhism as the state religion. The period of Angkor is the period from approximately the latter half of the 8th century AD to the first half of the 15th century. If precise dates are required, the beginning may be set in 802 AD, when the founder of the Khmer Empire, Jayavarman II pronounced himself universal monarch (chakravartin) and declared independence from Java, and the end may be set in 1431 AD, when Thai invaders
from the kingdom of Ayutthaya sacked Angkor and caused the Khmer elite to migrate to Phnom Penh. In any study of Angkorian architecture, the emphasis is necessarily on religious architecture, since the only remaining Angkorian buildings are religious in nature. During the period of Angkor, only temples and other religious buildings were constructed of stone. Non-religious buildings such as dwellings were constructed of perishable materials such as wood, and as such have not survived. The religious architecture of Angkor has characteristic structures, elements, and motifs, which are identified in the glossary below. Since a number of different architectural styles succeeded one another during the Angkorean period, not all of these features were equally in evidence throughout the period. Indeed, scholars have referred to the presence or absence of such features as one source of evidence for dating the remains. Angkorian builders used brick, sandstone, laterite and wood as their materials. The ruins that remain are of brick, sandstone and laterite, the wood elements having been lost to decay and other destructive processes. The earliest Angkorian temples were made mainly of brick. Good examples are the temple towers of Preah Ko, Lolei and Bakong at Hariharalaya. Decorations were usually carved into a stucco applied to the brick, rather than into the brick itself. Angkor's neighbor state of Champa was also the home to numerous brick temples that are similar in style to those of Angkor. The most extensive ruins are at Máťš SĆĄn in Vietnam. A Cham story tells of the time that the two countries settled an armed conflict by means of a tower-building contest proposed by the Cham King Po Klaung Garai. While the Khmer built a standard brick tower, Po Klaung Garai directed his people to build an impressive replica of paper and wood. In the end, the Cham replica was more impressive than the real brick tower of the Khmer, and the Cham won the contest.
The only stone used by Angkorian builders was sandstone, obtained from the Kulen mountains. Since its obtainment was considerably more expensive than that of brick, sandstone only gradually came into use, and at first was used for particular elements such as door frames. The 10th century temple of Ta Keo is the first Angkorian temple to be constructed more or less entirely from Sandstone. Angkorian builders used laterite, a clay that is soft when taken from the ground but that hardens when exposed to the sun, for foundations and other hidden parts of buildings. Because the surface of laterite is uneven, it was not suitable for decorative carvings, unless first dressed with stucco. Laterite was more commonly used in the Khmer provinces than at Angkor itself. • Outer Structure The temple complex is enclosed within a 190 m wide moat. A stretch of 30 m wide open ground separates the moat from the 4.5 m high outer wall that surrounds the temple on all four sides. Entry to the temple complex is guarded by an impressive architectural structure, which is on each side of the outer wall, is known as the gopura. Inside the walls lies an area of 820,000 square meters that not only has the temple, but also housed the entire city and the royal palace. • Inner Structure The inner structure contains the temple, that stands on a raised terrace made of three rectangular galleries, rising to a central tower. The three galleries are believed by some to represent Brahma - the creator according to Hindu mythology, the moon, and Vishnu the Hindu god who is supposed to be the preserver of all forms of life. The central tower forms a quincunx with the other towers on the gallery to represent mount Meru, surrounded by other peaks. By the 12th century the Khmer craftsmen had become skilled workers of sandstone. The temple is made of sandstone, and is intricately decorated with scenes from Hindu epics (like the Ramayana and Mahabharata) in bas relief. The
temple preserves the style of the Khmer period, in the form of towers that are shaped like lotus buds, cruciform terraces and axial galleries that connect enclosures. Although the temple follows the basic principles of Khmer architecture, unlike other temples built around the same time, the Angkor Wat faces the west. Some believe that this deviation from the usual orientation of Khmer temples towards the east, is because it is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, who is associated with the west direction. However, some other scholars believe that orientation towards the west direction reflects Suryavarman II's desire to use the temple for personal funerary purpose. Angkor Wat is the largest temple in the world that has been compared to the architecture of Rome and Ancient Greece. It has been a part of the Angkor World Heritage Site since 1992 and is a symbol of pride for the people of Cambodia.
References 1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khmer_architecture
2.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/architecture-of-angkor-wat.html