Ta Prohm, second enclosure, tree roots framing a bay

ASU Libraries undertakes research and accepts public comments that enhance the information we hold about images in our collections. If you can identify a landmark or person please send details to: digitalrepository@asu.edu, opens in a new window. Thank you for helping describe and caption this important historical image.

The object depicted in the image is made of the following material(s): sandstone, laterite

Information about the creation of the object depicted in the image: 1186

Information about the restoration of the object depicted in the image: Cleared 1920

This temple-monastery was posthumously dedicated to Jayavarman VII’s mother, Jayarajachudamani, and his guru, Jayamangalartha. According its foundation stele, there were 12,640 people in residence, and the temple was served by 79,365 people from surrounding villages. The Ecole Francaise d’Extreme-Orient decided to leave the temple in its ‘natural state’ as an example of how Angkor looked when it was discovered in the 19th century, and since then it has been maintained in this condition of deliberate neglect. Visitors are drawn to the temple ruins because of the dramatic effect created by the entanglement of tree roots and forest vegetation with the architectural structure of the monument.

Source for information about the object depicted in the image: Jessup, Helen Ibbitson. Art and Architecture of Cambodia. London: Thames & Hudson, 2004. Freeman M. and C. Jacques. Ancient Angkor. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999.

To request permission to publish please complete the form located at the Department of Archives and Special Collections web site: http://hdl.handle.net/2286/7f5bakntwx1, opens in a new window.