Wat Phou

Infobox World Heritage Site
WHS = Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape


State Party =
Type = Cultural
Criteria = iii, iv, vi
ID = 481
Region = Asia-Pacific
Year = 2001
Session = 25th
Link = http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/481

Wat Phou (Vat Phu) is a ruined Khmer temple complex in southern Laos. It is located at the base of mount Phu Kao, some 6 km from the Mekong river in Champassak province. There was a temple on the site as early as the 5th century, but the surviving structures date from the 11th to 13th centuries. The temple has a unique structure, in which the elements lead to a shrine where a linga was bathed in water from a mountain spring. The site later became a centre of Theravada Buddhist worship, which it remains today.

History

Wat Phou was initially associated with the city of Shrestapura, which lay on the bank of the Mekong directly east of mount Lingaparvata (now called Phu Kao).ref|PRAL01 By the latter part of the 5th century the city was already the capital of a kingdom which texts and inscriptions connect with both Chenla and Champa, and the first structure on the mountain was constructed around this time.ref|Free01 The mountain gained spiritual importance from the linga-shaped protuberance on its summit; the mountain itself was therefore considered the home of Shiva, and the river as representing the ocean or the Ganges River.ref|UN01 The temple was naturally dedicated to Shiva, while the water from the spring which emerges directly behind the temple was considered sacred.

Wat Phou was a part of the Khmer empire, centred on Angkor to the southwest, at least as early as the reign of Yashovarman I in the early 10th century. Shrestapura was superseded by a new city in the Angkorian period, located directly south of the temple.ref|UN02 In the later period, the original buildings were replaced, re-using some of the stone blocks; the temple now seen was built primarily during the Koh Ker and Baphuon periods of the 11th century. Minor changes were made during the following two centuries, before the temple, like most in the empire, was converted to Theravada Buddhist use. This continued after the area came under control of the Lao, and a festival is held on the site each February. Little restoration work has been done, other than the restoration of boundary posts along the path. Wat Phou was designated a World Heritage Site in 2001.

The site

Like most Khmer temples, Wat Phou is orientated towards the east. although the axis actually faces eight degrees south of due east, being determined primarily by the orientation of the mountain and the river. Including the barays it stretches 1.4 km east from the source of the spring, at the base of a cliff 100 m up the hill. 6 km east of the temple, on the west bank of the Mekong, lay the city, while a road south from the temple itself led to other temples and ultimately to the city of Angkor.

. Only one now contains water, the 600 by 200 m middle baray which lies directly along the temples's axis; there were further reservoirs north and south of this, and a further pair on each side of the causeway between the middle baray and the palaces.

The two palaces stand on a terrace on either side of the axis. They are known as the north and south palaces or, without any evidence, the men's and women's palaces (the term "palace" is also a mere convention — their purpose is unknown). Each consisted of a rectangular courtyard with a corridor and entrance on the side towards the axis, and false doors at the east and west ends. The courtyards of both buildings have laterite walls; the walls of the northern palace's corridor are also laterite, while those of the southern palace are sandstone. The northern building is now in better condition. The palaces are notable chiefly for their pediments and lintels, which are in the early Angkor Wat style.

The next terrace has a small shrine to Nandin (Shiva's mount) to the south, in poor condition. The road connecting Wat Phou to Angkor ran south from this temple. Continuing west, successive staircases lead up further terraces; between them stands a dvarapala which has come to be worshipped as king Kammatha, mythical builder of the temple. On the narrow next terrace are the remains of six small shrines destroyed by treasure-hunters.

apart.

Other features of the area are a library, in poor condition, south of the sanctuary, and a relief of the Hindu trinity to the northwest. There are other carvings further north: a Buddha's footprint on the cliff-face, and boulders shaped to resemble elephants and a crocodile. The crocodile stone has acquired some notoriety as being possibly the site of an annual human sacrifice described in a 6th century Chinese text the identification is lent some plausibility by the similarity of the crocodile's dimensions to those of a human.

Notes

# Projet de Recherches en Archaeologie Lao. "Vat Phu: The Ancient City, The Sanctuary, The Spring" (pamphlet).
# Freeman, "A Guide to Khmer Temples in Thailand and Laos" p. 200-201.
# ICOMOS [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/481.pdf report] p. 71.
# ICOMOS [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/481.pdf report] p. 72.

References

* É. Aymonier, "Le Cambodge. II Les provinces siamoises", Paris 1901;
* E. Lunet de Lajonquiére, "Inventaire descriptif des monuments d’Indochine. Le Cambodge", II, Paris 1907;
* H. Marchal, "Le Temple de Vat Phou, province de Champassak", Éd. du département des Cultes du Gouvernement royal du Laos
* H. Parmentier, «Le temple de Vat Phu», "Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient", 14/2, 1914, p. 1-31;
* M. Freeman, "A Guide to Khmer Temples in Thailand and Laos". Weatherhill 1996. ISBN 0-8348-0450-6.
* M. Santoni "et al.", «Excavations at Champasak and Wat Phu (Southern Laos) », in R. Ciarla, F. Rispoli (ed.), "South-East Asian Archaeology 1992", Roma 1997, p. 233-63;
* M. Cucarzi, O. Nalesini "et al.", «Carta archeologica informatizzata: il progetto UNESCO per l’area di Wat Phu», in B. Amendolea (ed.), "Carta archeologica e pianificazione territoriale", Roma 1999, p. 264-71;
* "UNESCO Champasak Heritage Management Plan", Bangkok 1999 [http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/culture/Vat_Phou] ;
* International Council on Monuments and Sites [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/481.pdf report on World Heritage Site application] , September 2001;
* O. Nalesini, «Wat Phu», in "Enciclopedia archeologica. Asia", Roma 2005.
* Ch. Higham. "The Civilization of Angkor". Phoenix 2001. ISBN 1-84212-584-2.
* Projet de Recherches en Archaeologie Lao. "Vat Phu: The Ancient City, The Sanctuary, The Spring" (pamphlet).