Ta Keo
Ta Keo ( Khmer ប្រាសាទតាកែវ ), also Prasat Keo , is an approximately one thousand year old monumental temple mount in the central Angkor region ( Cambodia ). Today Ta Keo lies on the way from the Victory Gate of the historic capital Angkor Thom to the west bank of the East Baray , a now dry artificial water reservoir; although the temple is a century younger than the reservoir, it is two centuries older than the city.
The modern name Ta Keo means “Old Crystal ” in German , Prasat Keo means “Crystal Temple” accordingly; the original name was Hemasringagiri , in German "mountain with golden peaks", and referred to the mythological mountain Meru .
history
In the history of the pyramid temples in Angkor, Ta Keo is the largest and most imposing building by far. The comparatively flat step pyramids Bakong ( Roluos ) and Bakheng , the steep step pyramids Baksei Chamkrong and Prasat Thom ( Koh Ker ), the particularly harmonious structures Pre Rup and Ta Keo , and finally the monumental examples Baphuon and Angkor Wat are considered landmarks .
Ta Keo was built under King Jayavarman V (reigned 968–1001) and King Suryavarman I (reigned around 1002–1050) and was to serve as the new state temple. In 1007 it was consecrated to the Hindu god Shiva , but shortly before completion it was abandoned - apparently because of a lightning strike that was considered a bad omen . Some relief work at the east entrance was already finished, but the other walls remained undesigned. The clarity of the building is increased by the unplanned lack of decoration; the smooth surfaces are actually reminiscent of crystals. Suryavarman I is said to have made the temple available to the scholar Yogisvara Pandita, who, however, did not use the top step of the terrace with the towers because he did not feel worthy enough.
Only the lowest terrace level of the Ta Keo consists of laterite . This makes it the first Khmer temple to be built almost entirely from sandstone - the stones were transported 30 km from a quarry on Phnom Kulen . The surrounding gallery and the temple towers, which are open in the four cardinal directions (not just eastwards), are also without precursors. Ta Keo is the only shell of all the Khmer temples and shows in great immediacy the care with which the stone blocks were stacked almost seamlessly.
architecture
The rectangular temple complex is surrounded by a moat that has now dried up and measures 195 by 255 m including this; the historic main entrance is on the eastern narrow side of the rectangle. A three-tier pyramid sits enthroned on a two-tier terrace, slightly shifted to the west, i.e. away from the main entrance. The lower terrace measures 106 by 122 m; the upper terrace rises 5.5 m above the lower and measures 75 by 80 m; the pyramid rises 14 m above the upper terrace and measures 60 by 60 m below, 47 by 47 m above. The top platform of the pyramid is crowned by five temple towers arranged in a quincunx , like the five points on a cube surface; the outer towers each have an 80 cm high plinth, the central tower a two-tiered, 4 m high plinth. Originally, the entire structure rose a good 50 m above the ground.
From the four gate towers ( gopura ) in the outer walls, four entrances lead straight to the top platform of the pyramid. The steps are up to 40 cm high. Long, narrow halls with baluster windows run along the east side of the lower terrace to the left and right of the main entrance . Around the upper terrace are two snakes ( naga ), the missing heads in the east, the tails in the west, and a gallery runs with windows looking inwards and which has no access, i.e. is purely decorative in nature. So-called libraries or sacristies are located on the same terrace to the left and right of the main entrance; in the middle, directly below the staircase leading to the pyramid, kneels a holy bull ( Nandi ).
An approximately 500 m long causeway runs eastward from the main entrance to the eastern Baray. There is a small two-tier landing site here . The entire temple complex, comparable to a mandala , symbolizes harmony with earth and sky in its alignment, and in its structure the path to the gods leading to the center and upwards.
Sources and further information
literature
- Michael Freeman and Claude Jacques: Ancient Angkor . River Books, Bangkok 1999, ISBN 974-8225-27-5 .
- Luca Invernizzi Tettoni and Thierry Zéphir: Angkor. A tour of the monuments . Archipelago Press, Singapore 2004, ISBN 981-4068-73-X .
- Nick Ray: Cambodia . Lonely Planet Publications, Victoria 2005, ISBN 1-74059-525-4 .
- Johann Reinhart Zieger: Angkor and the Khmer temples in Cambodia . Silkworm Books, Chiang Mai 2006, ISBN 974-9575-60-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zieger pp. 8 and 46.
- ↑ Zieger pp. 241, 243 and 245 (“Glossary”, keywords “Keo”, “Prasat” and “Ta”).
- ↑ a b Freeman and Jacques p. 133.
- ↑ Zieger pp. 212–214 (“Development of the Pyramiden Temple”).
- ↑ Annual figures from Zieger p. 21.
- ↑ Zieger pp. 21 and 22.
- ↑ Zieger p. 22.
- ↑ Invernizzi Tettoni and Zéphir p. 42.
- ↑ This and the following dimensions according to Freeman and Jacques, pp. 133–135.
- ↑ a b Dimensions according to Zieger p. 22.
- ↑ Dimensions according to Zieger p. 21.
- ↑ Zieger p. 21.
- ↑ Zieger pp. 215–216 (“Symbolism of the Pyramiden Temple”).
Web links
Coordinates: 13 ° 26 ′ 40.9 ″ N , 103 ° 52 ′ 56.4 ″ E