The temple is located north of the road running from the Royal Palace to the east, near the west bank of the river. It was built in the late 11th or early 121th centuries in the style of Angkor Wat, and was restored 1919-20, 1925-27, and 1961-66.

A tower (T) with antarala (A) and mandapa (M) and a fire shrine (F) are enclosed by a laterite wall (W), some 45 m by 60 m, with gates (G) in the east and west, and a moat. To the east is a terrace (T).

Today visitors enter the temple from south, where the moat is now almost flattened and the enclosure wall has vanished. The original entrance is by the east gate with adjacent terrace (photo).

The tower is cruciform as at Ta Keo or Phimeanakas, but opens only to the east. The other porches shelter false doors.

"The sanctuary tower has four upper tears and clearly dominates, as much by the prominence of the finely sculpted ... plinth ... as by the bold proportions of its corner piers [pillars]. These are entirely decorated and rise uninterrupted to the full height of the frontons. ... The highly stylised devata are not less remarkable." (Glaize, p. 131; photo)

In the mandapa and the antarala are well preserved lintel reliefs: Vishnu rescuing the Lord of the Elephants; the elephant is irregularly depicted with three heads (photo), and Vishnu on Garuda (photo).

Most reliefs are on superimposed, 'telescopic' pediments (photo).

Thommanon is a typical Buddhist flat temple

Click the pics to enlarge.

Thommanon: tower & mandapa

Map of Thommanon (Glaize, modified)

References

• Freeman/Jacques, p.124-129.
• Glaize, p. 130-33.
• Roveda 2005, p. 255-56, 368-371, 393-96.
  Comprehensive decoding of the reliefs.

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Chau Say Tevoda

The temple is located south of the road from the Royal Palace to the East Mebon (which was built much later). It is linked to the nearby river by an avenue, a stone bridge, and a cruciform terrace. It .was built at the middle of the 12th century, it was recently restored by a Chinese team

Enclosed by a laterite wall with four gopura in the cardinal directions, is a tower with antarala and mandapa, and two fire shrines.

Chau Say Tevoda Some reliefs at the pediments were thoroughly scratched out at the iconoclasm. That's why Glaize calls the temple 'brahmanic' . But the pediment at the west face of the southern fire shrine marks the temple Buddhist (photo).
Buddhist images are never to be seen in Hindu temples.

References

• Glaize, p. 132-133. .
• Roveda 2005, 368-369. Comprehensive decoding of the reliefs

Banteay Samré

The temple is located some 300 m east of the East Baray.
It is a Buddhist flat temple, constructed in middle 12th century.

There are two enclosures.

• The outer enclosure was framed by a colonnade, the tiled roofs are vanished. Both enclosures have gate pavilions at the cardinal points.
• The inner enclosure is similar to Chau Say but Banteay Samré is framed by a gallery. The buildings inside are framed by narrow platform; the make a way to go around but they also let it look like perched together.

"Like Angkor Wat, Banteay Samré is approached by a long, raised causeway, leading to a cruciform terrace ... The causeway's length, more than 200 m and unfinished to the east, suggests that Banteay Samré enclosed a reasonably sized town as well as a temple at its heart. To the west an avenue of 350 m leads from the East Baray, ending in another cruciform terrace." (Freeman/Jaques, p. 165. Map.)

Reliefs are at pediments and lintels, and at the bases of the pilasters at the tower and the mandapa.

Banteay Samré was cleared in 1930 and restored 1936-44.
"Anastylosis has transformed it into one of the finest monuments of the Angkor group, and one of the most complete. Its ornamentation, exceptional in quality and very well preserved in its entirety, became thereafter presented in its unique integrity – it is a pure specimen of the classic art from the finest period where the decoration, shown to its best advantage on a clear background, is itself a function of the architecture." (Glaize, p. 190.)

(Google Earth, modofied)

Map of Banteay Samré (Glaize, modified)

References

• Glaize, p. 189-193.
• Freeman/Jacques, p. 1164-167.
• Roveda 2005, 393-396. Comprehensive decoding of the reliefs.

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Prasat Wat Athvea

The temple is located in the southern outskirts of Siem Reap. It is orientated to the west.

"This sanctuary ... is a high square tower [in the style of Angkor Wat], built in blocks of great size and an attractive grain ...This high central tower can be seen from afar amidst the rice plains ... Wat Athvea ... is a strong, very simple architecture to which they perhaps not applied the final touches."
(Aymonier, p. 207.)

At the eastern wall of the mandapa are two fine devata on decorated pilasters in the style of Angkor Wat (photo). At the pillars are Buddhist inscriptions of the 16th century; but the huge and well executed pedestal of a lingam in the cella mark the temple as Hindu.
"It must have been disused later ..." (Aymonier, p. 208.)

The tower is surrounded by four fire shrines which open irregularly to the west (photo), and is enclosed by a laterite wall of some 50 m by 42 m.

Outer gate pavilion and terrace

At the west face of the enclosure is a stately gate pavilion. Some 40 m on is the ruin of another cruciform gate pavilion. And again some 120 m to the west, beyond what has been a large moat, are the remains of a cruciform terrace. The walls are moulded; it is the only building where the stone carvers could do their work (photo).

References

• Aymonier 1999, p. 207-208.
• Map from Google Earth