01The city of lingas
Jayavarman IV ruled from Koh Ker, some 120 km north-east of Angkor, from 928, and his successor Harshavarman II stayed there until 944. In those years about forty temples rose around a great reservoir, the Rahal. Some shrines hold lingas two metres high, cut from the bedrock itself. The state temple, Prasat Thom, runs on a long east–west line, unlike the concentric plans of Angkor, and ends in the Prang, a pyramid of seven tiers 36 metres high, on top of which once stood a colossal linga. The Koh Ker style of sculpture, large figures in full movement, is counted among the high points of Khmer art.
02Looted, then returned
Remote and long cut off by war and mines, Koh Ker was stripped by looters, and its statues surfaced in museums and auction houses abroad. Two warriors from the Prasat Chen temple, identified as Bhima and Duryodhana in their mace fight from the Mahabharata, became the test cases: after a lawsuit in New York, the Duryodhana was returned to Cambodia in 2014, and other Koh Ker pieces have followed from American museums since. On 17 September 2023 Koh Ker was inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The life of this place
- 928Jayavarman IV rules from Koh Ker.
- 944The court returns to the Angkor area under Rajendravarman II.
- 2014The Duryodhana statue from Prasat Chen is returned to Cambodia.
- 17 September 2023Koh Ker is inscribed as a World Heritage Site.
About 2.5 hours by road from Siem Reap; a separate ticket applies. Keep to marked paths, as parts of the forest have not been fully cleared of mines.
