Prei Khmeng, or Prei Khmeng village, is an archaeological site located in Siem Reap province, Cambodia. Occupation of Prei Khmeng began during the Iron Age and continued through the 11th century.
Notable features of Prei Khmeng include a cemetery constructed during 1st–6th century CE, as well as an Angkorian temple constructed on top of the cemetery between the 6th and 7th centuries CE.
Excavations at Prei Khmeng have uncovered a total of 10 confirmed burial contexts and a variety of artifacts including ceramics, tools, jewelry, and animal remains. Artifacts at this site indicate that Prei Khmeng was engaged in trade with other sites in the area.
Background
Site history
An Iron Age occupation occurred at Prei Khmeng during the 1st–6th centuries CE. During this occupation period a cemetery was constructed. A mound and one of the area's earliest pre-Angkor Hindu temples were constructed on top of the cemetery location between the 6th and 7th centuries CE. Occupation of this site continued until the 10th–11th centuries CE.
Archaeological excavations
The first excavations at Prei Khmeng were conducted by a joint Franco-Cambodian archaeological team, who conducted a series of three excavations between 2000 and 2003. Additional excavations were carried out by an Australian-Cambodian team in 2014.
Architecture
Architectural styles
The temple found at Prei Khmeng was constructed in the Angkorian style representative of the Khmer Empire, which incorporated many Hindu spiritual concepts into the design of the temple.
The Prei Khmeng name is associated with a series of four distinguishable and well-dated lintel styles, with the Prei Khmeng style beginning in the 7th century CE and ending in the 8th century CE.
The use of inscriptions is found at Prei Khmeng, with some commemorating events that occurred in the 9th and 10th centuries CE.
Bricks recovered from the southern mound are similar to those found in pre and early Angkor period temples.
Site and plan
The site was originally an Iron-age cemetery and habitual occupation area from the 1st–6th centuries CE. By the 7th century CE, two moats, a mound, and a temple were constructed in the Angkorian style atop the preexisting cemetery. Additionally, wealthy households or other prestigious structures, indicated in the archaeological record through the recovery of ceramic roof tiles and Chinese artifacts, appear to have been constructed on the southern mound.
Features
Moats
Before the 7th century construction of the temple, there were no moats on-site. Now, there are two moats located at Prei Khmeng, to the north of the temple-mound and another to the south. The moats were purposefully constructed to not only create the northern temple mound, but are a specific design element central to the construction of Angkorian temples.
Mounds
Two mounds are found at Prei Khmeng. The northern mound, situated between the two moats, was constructed using soil from said moats, disturbing Iron-age burials in the process. This disturbed soil has only been recovered from the northern mound, suggesting that the entirety of excavated soil from the two moats was used exclusively in the construction of the northern temple-mound.
Temple
Completed by the beginning of the 7th century CE, the Angkorian brick temple was constructed upon the northern mound. Of note, it is unusual to have a Hindu temple erected upon a cemetery.
Other Features
A refuse area, post molds, as well as 17 laterite blocks are located on the southern mound.
Mortuary contexts
The 2014 Australian-Cambodian excavation uncovered a total of 10 confirmed mortuary contexts dated to the 2nd–4th centuries CE. Two of these individuals were determined to likely be female, while three or four were likely males. A range of age groups were represented, with the youngest individual recovered determined to be a neonatal infant and the oldest individuals recovered being older middle-aged adults. An additional 11th possible context was also found in this area, containing grave goods but no evidence of human remains.
Grave goods
The quantity and type of grave goods found varied between the individual mortuary contexts. All uncovered contexts contained bronze bangles and a number of glass, carnelian or agate beads. Additional grave goods found in some but not all of the burials included ceramics, bronze bells and other jewelry, iron tools, and pig skulls. One individual was buried in a grave that had been filled with rice remains.