THE DEVELOPMENT OF KHMER ARCHITECTURE FROM BAPHOUN TO ANGKOR WAT: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF PREAH VIHEAR AND PHIMAI

Abstract

The significant interrelationship between Khmer architecture in northeast Thailand and Angkor during the eleventh to twelfth century has long been discussed by scholars. To further explore the change in Baphoun and Angkor Wat style archetypes, this paper investigates the Khmer architectural development initiated in the late eleventh century Preah Vihear, a Baphoun style sanctuary on Dangraek range, and addresses its influence on the architecture of Phimai, an early twelfth century monument at the center of local politics in northeast Thailand.

The comparative study found that many features of the Preah Vihear central shrine, particularly in architectural proportion and building plan are successively developed at Phimai. The most compelling evidence is that the Prasada and Mandapa of Preah Vihear have bases of different height, a feature that Phimai modeled and was subsequently applied in Thommanon and Banteay Samrei at Angkor.

The development of architectural form observed in this article can plausibly be related to the social and political settlements along the ancient route between the Phimai and Dangraek ranges. However, more archaeological research on these provincial sites is needed to determine the validity of this initial evidence.