Phimai historical park
| Phimai historical park Prasart Phi Mai |
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 Phimai historical park
Prasart Phi Mai Location in Thailand
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| Coordinates: | 15°13′15″N 102°29′38″E / 15.22083°N 102.49389°ECoordinates: 15°13′15″N 102°29′38″E / 15.22083°N 102.49389°E |
| Name | |
| Proper name: | Prasat Hin Phi Mai |
| Location | |
| Country: | Thailand |
| Province: | Nakhon Ratchasima |
| Architecture and culture | |
| Primary deity: | Shankar |
| Architectural styles: | Khmer architecture |
| History | |
| Date built: (Current structure) |
11th-12th Century CE |
The Phimai historical park (Thai: ปราสาทหินพิมาย) protects one of the most important Khmer temples of Thailand. It is located in the town of Phimai, Nakhon Ratchasima province.
The temple marks one end of the Ancient Khmer Highway from Angkor. As the enclosed area of 1020x580m is comparable with that of Angkor Wat, Phimai must have been an important city in the Khmer empire. Most buildings are from the late 11th to the late 12th century, built in the Baphuon, Bayon and Angkor Wat style. However, even though the Khmer at that time were Hindu, the temple was built as a Buddhist temple,[1] as Buddhism in the Khorat area dated back to the 7th century. Inscriptions name the site Vimayapura (which means city of Vimaya), which developed into the Thai name Phimai.
The first inventory of the ruins was done in 1901 by the French geographer Etienne Aymonier. They were put under governmental protection by announcement in the Government Gazette, Volume 53, section 34, from September 27, 1936. Most of the restorations were done from 1964 to 1969 as a joint Thai-French project. The historical park, now managed by the Fine Arts Department, was officially opened by Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on April 12, 1989.
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[edit] Archaeological Projects
In 1998, the Origins of Angkor Project (OAP,) a joint project of the Royal Thai Fine Arts Department Anthropology Department and the University of Otago, New Zealand, began excavations to investigate the underlying sequence. Temple construction during the Angkorian period involved the deliberate deposition of layers of fill, which can clearly be seen in the stratigraphy of the site. [2][3]
[edit] Gallery
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The Naga Bridge, leading to the southern outer gopura
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The inner enclosure seen from the southern outer gopura
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Lintel over the northern entry to main shrine, showing dancing Vajrasattva
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pen and ink sketch
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The people looking at the photographer are looking in the direction of Ankor
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column foundations?
[edit] References
- ^ http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/1919/
- ^ Talbot, Sarah; Chutima, Janthed (Fall 2001). "Northeast Thailand before Angkor: Evidence from an Archaeological Excavation at the Prasat Hin Phimai" (Journal). Asian Perspectives 40.2. Project MUSE. pp. 179–194. doi:10.1353/asi.2001.0027. http://muse.jhu.edu/. Retrieved 29 July 2011. "Abstract: Northeast Thailand (Isan) was incorporated into the polity of Angkor around the end of the first millennium a.d. Well before this time, local communities in the Phimai region had adopted important activities such as the use of inscriptions and the construction of religious architecture in permanent materials. In 1998, the Origins of Angkor Project undertook an archaeological excavation at the most important Khmer temple in Thailand, the Prasat Hin Phimai. The excavation recovered late prehistoric ceramics and remains of an early brick structure, probably religious in nature, which had been re-used as part of the foundation of the sandstone Angkorian temple."
- ^ "Northeast Thailand before Angkor: evidence from an archaeological excavation at the Prasat Hin Phimai" (Web). Introduction. HighBeam Research. September 22, 2001. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-93008204.html. Retrieved September 21, 2011.
- Michael Freeman - A guide to Khmer temples in Thailand and Laos, ISBN 0-8348-0450-6
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Prasat Hin Phimai |
- http://www.phimai.ca - Computer model of the temple
- Phimai Historical Park travel guide from Wikitravel
- "Phimai Historical Park" in Korat Magazine
