Prasat Phnom Krom is approximately 12 kilometers (7 .4 miles)
southwest of Siem Reap near the north end of the Tonle Sap Lake
It was built in the end of the ninth century beginning of
the tenth century dedicated to the Hindu Trinity- Siva, Visnu and Brahma, with
following to Prasat Bakheng art style.
BACKGROUND
Yasovarman I built a temple on each of the three hills
dominating the plain of Angkor, Bakheng, Phnom Krom and Phnom Bok. The temple of Phnom Krom
LAYOUT
Phnom Krom is a square plan and consists of three towers in
a row situated dramatically on a hilltop. They were dedicated to Siva, Visnu
and Brahma respectively.
The upper portions of the towers have collapsed and the
facades are very degraded but otherwise they remain intact. The towers are
enclosed by a literate wall intersected on each side by an entry tower in the
shape of a cross.
Three long halls built of laterite (only the bases of which
remain) parallel the wall around the courtyard. They probably served as rest
houses. Four small building inside the courtyard preceded the sanctuaries. They
are similar except that the two at either end are brick and the two in the
middle are sandstone. All four have a series of holes in the walls, which
suggests they may have been used as crematoriums.
The three central towers stand on a north south axis on a
low rectangular platform with molding constructed of sandstone paving over a
laterite base. Two sides of the base are intercepted by three stairways with
lions on the landings. The towers are square and originally had four recessed
tiers on the upper portion. they open to the east and west with false doors on
the north south. Traces of decoration remain around the base of the platform
near the stairs, on the pilasters, the panels of the false doors, the cornices
and on niches in the corners. The upper terrace affords a panoramic view of the
Great Lake
