banteay samre

One of the smaller Angkor temples, the Banteay Samre (Banteay

Samré) takes its name from the Samré people that inhabited the
area.
The temples pediments and lintels are decorated with very intricate
and well preserved carvings of Hindu mythological stories and
Buddhist depictions.
As an inscribed stele giving information about the founding of the
temple has not been found, it is not known what year the temple
was build. Judging from its style and ornamentation, it is likely that
the Banteay Samre was built around halfway through the 12th
century during the reign of King Suryavarman Il.
At the start of the 20th century the Banteay Samre was overgrown
with jungle. It was restored during the 1930's using the anastylosis
method, that aims to restore the monument as close as possible to
the original.

Banteay Samre was cleared by a Frencharchaeological team of

Maurice Glaize in 1930.
After extensive restoration work between 1936 and 1944 according
to the method called
Anastylosis, this temple is one of the finest and most complete
Khmer monuments now.
Undoubtedly, Banteay Samre in its present condition is Angkor's
most significant flat temple from the Hindu period and the second
most important example of the classical style of Angkor Wat, though
not of such enormous size as Beng Melea outside Angkor or Phimai
in North East Thailand.
Like Angkor Wat, Banteay Same was obviously dedicated to Vishnu,
though no inscription was has yet been found to confirm this. It is a
matter of debate whether Banteay Same was built by Angkor Wat
founder Suryavarman Il or by one of his high-ranking court officials or
by Suyavarman's less significant immidiate successor Yashovarman Il.
Like Angkor Wat, Banteay Samre is approached by a long, raised
causeway, leading to a cruciform terrace. Probably it is of a later
date, because the design of the cylindrical columns is of the Bayon
style, though lion statues are very similar to those of the Angkor
Wat. Unlike Angkor Wat, Banteay^
Samre is oriented to the east. But there is a second causeway at the
back side in the west connecting the temple to the south-east corner
of the former reservoir East Baray.
Banteay Samre has two quite different and contrasting enclosures.
The outer (83m x 77m) is a laterite gallery in a warm reddish tone,
the inner court and its edifices are completely built in sandstone,
which is of a grey colour. Both enclosures' gate pavilions, at the
cardinal points, are decorated with excellent reliefs, at pediments in
particular. These sandstone carvings are strikingly deep. The outer
enclosure was framed by a colonnade, the tiled roofs are vanished.
In places, it is a real symphony of columned windows. An
^
interior moat with laterite paving, filled with water
interior moat with laterite paving, filled with water after heavy
rainfall till the present day, is a unique feature inside a Khmer temple
complex.
The sandstone buildings inside the central enclosure are framed by
narrow platforms. The buildings bear reliefs at pediments and lintels
and at the bases of the pilasters. Their ornamentation is of
exceptional quality. Some reliefs on the upper leveis of this Hindu
sanctuary show Buddhist scenes.
Surprisingly, this temple in the style of Angkor Wat has no Apsara
depictions.
There is a stone coffin in the main sanctuary.
Originally there was a Vishnu statue inside the central Prasat tower.
Unfortunately, many sculptures and some carvings of Banteay Samre
were stolen between 1945 and 1947 and during the Cambodian civil
war from 1980 to 1995.