city

Terrain

General Condition

Prasat Muang Khaek is a rather large abandoned archaeological site. Located on a high hill or high area adjacent to the plains along Lam Ta Khong. Lam Ta Khong is about 150 meters to the north.

Prasat Muang Khaek, located 500 meters north of Prasat Non Ku (along the axis of the direction), has been renovated and landscaped. The surrounding area is a lawn that is maintained by the Department of Fine Arts and Localities. Next to it is a grove area. people's houses and agricultural areas

Height above mean sea level

Waterway

Lam Ta Khong, Mun River

Geological conditions

Prasat Muang Khaek is located on a high hill or high area adjacent to the plains along Lam Ta Khong formed by the deposition of convective sediments in the Quaternary period. It consists of river pebbles, silt and clay, while the base rocks are Mesozoic.

Archaeological Era

era/culture

Archaeological age

Types of archaeological sites

archaeological essence

Prasat Muang Khaek is an archaeological site. relatively large Made of sandstone and bricks The schematic is rectangular. facing north The main buildings are the main castle, 2 bannalai, crooked terraces, arches or gopura, glass walls, ponds and small brick castles.

The layout of the ancient site can be divided into 3 parts:

Part 1 or the innermost part It consists of three castles, made of sandstone and brick, set on the same base. head to the north Only the pagoda or the main castle has a porch or mondop which looks like a room next to the front. There are stairs up both the front and both sides. Found a sandstone sculpture base at the main castle and the east castle. All three buildings are left with only the base and part of the building. Including the main castle, there are still window openings and mawut balls. door frame pillar sandstone door frame and a lintel carved with the image of Narai Banthomsin on the top of the front door frame or the Mondop section.

On the side of the main pagoda, there are 2 brick building bases on the left and right, 1 on each side, facing the main castle. It could be a temple or a library. In this first section there is a brick wall surrounding it. On the east side of the wall is a rectangular brick building built parallel to the wall. This building has entrance doors on the west and north sides. The pillars adorning the door frame remain at the north gate.

There is an entrance arch, or inner gopura, on either side of the front or on the north side (three gates), with the remains of the sandstone door frames and columns. There are also two other brick building bases at the corner of the glass wall in front of the main castle. Beside the Gopura or the inner gate in front or north on both sides, left and right, the building on the right has a brick paved walkway connecting the long building parallel to the eastern glass wall.

Part 2 an outer wall which was dug into a pool almost surrounding the ancient site except for the central part of the front By using the soil obtained from digging the pond to make a wall around the glass wall and the pool. On the north side there is a walkway connecting the inner part or the first part. The outer front or north wall has a large arch or cross-shaped outer gopura. Corresponding to the inner gopura (3 door openings), there are still window openings and mawds, as well as sandstone door frames.

Part 3 outside the outer wall or the second part coming out to the front or north There is a building base made of laterite, sandstone and brick base, 2 houses on the left and right, 1 on each side, facing each other. (The building on the right faces west. The left building faces east). The upper part may be built of wood. The base of both buildings has a square plan with a porch protruding towards the front. The base is high, with stairs leading up to the top of the base on all 4 sides, surrounded by walls. There is a gopura at the front and back. (The front is larger) In the main room of the west building, there is a phallic base and sandstone yoni in the middle of the room. The same is true for the eastern building with a sandstone sculpture base in the middle of the main chamber.

From the study and excavation excavation in 1959 and 1990-1991 of the Fine Arts Department, where important evidence such as Siwa Lingam, Siwa Linga base, gable engraved Umamahasuan Lintel of Indra on the Erawan elephant Lintel of Phra Narai Banthomsin a lintel depicting an angel sitting in an arch above the face of time Kononthi sculpture and 3 digit inscriptions (Inscription of Prasat Muang Khaek 1, 2 and 3 were found from excavations in the outer area of ​​Kopura, Khmer script, Khmer language, currently preserved at the Maha Weerawong National Museum), thus presuming that it is ancient. This place of worship was built because of the Brahmin religion Aged around the end of the 15th Buddhist century to the beginning of the 16th Buddhist century, Koh Ker-Pruai art style in Khmer art, while the inscription indicates A.D. 896, corresponding to A.D. 1517.

Inscription of Muang Khaek Castle

3 pieces of sandstone inscriptions were excavated at the outer wall of Gopura Castle. The letterforms look the same. The same era is the ancient Khmer script, the Khmer language, the text of the 3 digits of the inscription is consistent and is the same story. Therefore, these three inscriptions were merged into the same name, namely Prasat Muang Khaek Inscription, and separated into 3 digits:Prasat Muang Khaek Inscription 1, 2 and 3.

Inscription of the 1st Main City Castle Mention the royal decree of the King to establish an idol Kamrateng Ansi Asmanthrit Chantharamhesuan Morteng Ansri Asmanthrit Chandrasaka and Phra Mae Chao Kamrateng Ansi Asmanthrit Chanthewi And after that also included the Lord Kamratin of Lingapur. and let the nobles and courtiers together to take care of these idols and shrines by the slaves and things such as rice, oil, etc. on a regular basis, in line 9 of A.D. 896, which corresponds to A.D. 1517.

Inscription of the 2nd main city castle The text in the inscription is all a list of slaves.

Inscription of the 3rd main city castle Almost all of the text in the inscription was a list of slaves. At the end, there is a list of things to be donated.