About 2,000 m east of the Royal Palace, near the west face of the East Baray, is Ta Keo, a huge pyramid of light sandstone.

Standing 22 m high, with five towers on top, it is almost without ornamentation.

It is surrounded by a moat; an avenue with border stones links the temple to the East Baray.

"Ta Keo is a pyramid of five levels reaching a total height of 22 m - the first two form the base of two enclosing courtyards, one surrounded by a simmple wall and the other by a gallery, while the last three, with their various elements conforming to the usual rule of proportional reduction and so narrow that one can barely walk around them, are but a massive artificial plinth for the quincunx of sanctuaries." (Glaize, p. 135.)

Five towers in a quincunx encompass the top platform; each tower is open on four sides with projecting porches, doubled at the central tower. This makes their ground plan look cruciform. From every tower there are free views in the cardinal directions.

The central tower is raised on a plinth of 4 m and is taller than the corner towers. So, looking from outside the temple, you can see three towers in one line.

On the second tier we see a gallery, something of a novelty.

Ta Keo was consecrated in 1007. The construction of the temple seems to have been stopped. There are almost no reliefs and the overall picture is that of a cubist sculpture. We are thus left to imagine how carvings characterize the form of the Khmer temple.

Other monuments of this era:
Phimeanakas, Khleang, Parts of Preah Vihear (north Cambodia), Ta Krabey (Thailand).

Innovations

• All elements of the temple are in one straight design.
• After almost one century of brick and laterite constructions, now sandstone becomes the dominant material.  
• The towers become cruciform and open to the cardinal directions.
• For the first time there is a gallery.

Ta Keo is by many of its features a model of Angkor Wat.

500 m south-east of the pyramid is un unfinished sandstone tower. By Dumarcay/Royère (p. 67 f.) it was perhaps a part of the Ta Keo complex.

References

• Maurice Glaize, The Monuments Of The Angkor Group , www.theangkorguide.com, p. 135-137.
• Henri Stierlin, Architektur der Welt Angkor, Lausanne, 1976, p. 142.
• Michael Freeman, Claude Jacques, Ancient Angkor , Bangkok, 2003, p. 133-135.

External Links
Wikipedia [The relief there depicted is from Chau Say Tevoda.]
All Points East