Enceinte of the Angkor Structure
Enceinte could be a decorative wall or a defensive wall. The latter is
a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from
potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks
to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates for access to
the city. From ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements.
Generally, these are referred to as city walls or town walls, although there were
also walls, such as the Great Wall of China, Walls of Benin, Hadrian's
Wall, Anastasian Wall, and the Atlantic Wall, which extended far beyond the
borders of a city and were used to enclose regions or mark territorial
boundaries. In mountainous terrain, defensive walls such as letzis were used
in combination with castles to seal valleys from potential attack. Beyond their
defensive utility, many walls also had important symbolic functions –
representing the status and independence of the communities they embraced.
Existing ancient walls are almost always masonry structures, although brick
and timber-built variants are also known. Depending on the topography of the
area surrounding the city or the settlement the wall is intended to protect,
elements of the terrain such as rivers or coastlines may be incorporated in
order to make the wall more effective.
Walls may only be crossed by entering the appropriate city gate and are often
supplemented with towers. The practice of building these massive walls,
though having its origins in prehistory, was refined during the rise of city-
states, and energetic wall-building continued into the medieval period and
beyond in certain parts of Europe.
Simpler defensive walls of earth or stone, thrown up
around hillforts, ringworks, early castles and the like, tend to be referred to
as ramparts or banks.
Angkor Wat ('temple city / city of temples', located in northwest Cambodia, is
the largest religious structure in the form of a temple complex in the world by
land area, measuring 162.6 hectares (401+3⁄4 acres). At the centre of the temple
stands a quincunx of four towers surrounding a central spire that rises to a
height of 65 m (213 ft) above the ground. The temple has three rectangular
galleries, each raised above the next. It lies within an outer wall 3.6 kilometres
(2+1⁄4 miles) long and a moat more than five kilometres (three miles) long.
The temple was built at the behest of Suryavarman II in the early 12th century
in Yaśodharapura - Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as the state
temple for the empire. Originally constructed dedicated to
the Hindu god Vishnu in the early 12th century, it was converted to
a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture:
the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to
represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology.
Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west. Scholars
are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the
grandeur and harmony of its architecture, extensive bas-reliefs, and statues
of Buddhas and Devas that adorn its walls.
Getting orientated at Angkor Wat
Moat
Angkor Wat is surrounded by a 190m-wide moat, which forms a giant rectangle
measuring 1.5km by 1.3km. From the west, a sandstone causeway crosses the
moat.
Outer wall
The rectangular outer wall, which measures 1025m by 800m (3363ft by
2625ft), has a gate on each side, but the main entrance, a 235m-wide (82ft)
porch richly decorated with carvings and sculptures, is on the western side.
There is a statue of Vishnu, 3.25m (1066ft) in height and hewn from a single
block of sandstone, located in the right-hand tower. Vishnu’s eight arms hold a
mace, a spear, a disc, a conch and other items. You may also see locks of hair
lying about. These are offerings both from young people preparing to get
married and from pilgrims giving thanks for their good fortune.
A section of the outer wall at Angkor
Avenue
The avenue is 475m long (1558ft) and 9.5m wide (31 ft) and lined
with naga balustrades, leading from the main entrance to the central temple,
passing between two graceful libraries and then two pools, the northern one a
popular spot from which to watch the sun rise.
Central complex
The central temple complex consists of three storeys, each made of laterite,
which enclose a square surrounded by intricately interlinked galleries. The
Gallery of a Thousand Buddhas (Preah Poan) used to house hundreds of
Buddha images before the war, but many of these were removed or stolen,
leaving just the handful we see today.
Towers
The corners of the second and third storeys are marked by towers, each topped
with symbolic lotus-bud towers. Rising 31m (102ft) above the third level and
55m (180ft) above the ground is the central tower, which gives the whole grand
ensemble its sublime unity.
Upper level
The stairs to the upper level are immensely steep, because reaching the
kingdom of the gods was no easy task. Also known as Bakan Sanctuary, the
upper level of Angkor Wat is open to a limited number per day with a queuing
system.
As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a
significant religious centre since its foundation. The temple is at the top of the
high classical style of Khmer architecture. It is one of the most important
pilgrimage sites for Buddhists in Cambodia and around the world. It has
become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the
country's main tourist attraction. Angkor Wat played a major role
in converting Cambodia into a Buddhist nation
The outer wall, 1,024 m (3,360 ft) by 802 m (2,631 ft) and 4.5 m (15 ft) high, is
surrounded by a 30 m (98 ft) apron of open ground and a moat 190 m (620 ft)
wide and over 5 kilometres (3 mi) in perimeter.The moat extends 1.5 kilometres
from east to west and 1.3 kilometres from north to south. Access to the temple
is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the
latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden
bridge. There are gopuras at each of the cardinal points; the western is by far
the largest and has three ruined towers. Glaize notes that this gopura both
hides and echoes the form of the temple proper.
Towers of Angkor Wat
Under the southern tower is a statue known as Ta Reach, originally an eight-
armed statue of Vishnu may have occupied the temple's central
shrine. Galleries run between the towers and as far as two further entrances
on either side of the gopura often referred to as "elephant gates", as they are
large enough to admit those animals. These galleries have square pillars on the
outer (west) side and a closed wall on the inner (east) side. The ceiling between
the pillars is decorated with lotus rosettes; the west face of the wall with
dancing figures; and the east face of the wall with balustered windows, dancing
male figures on prancing animals, and devatas, including (south of the
entrance) the only one in the temple to be showing her teeth.
The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres (203 acres),
which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the
north of the temple, the royal palace. Like all secular buildings of Angkor, these
were built of perishable materials rather than of stone, so nothing remains of
them except the outlines of some of the streets. Most of the area is now covered
by forest. A 350 m (1,150 ft) causeway connects the western gopura to the
temple proper, with naga balustrades and six sets of steps leading down to the
city on either side. Each side also features a library with entrances at each
cardinal point, in front of the third set of stairs from the entrance, and a pond
between the library and the temple itself. The ponds are later additions to the
design, as is the cruciform terrace guarded by lions connecting the causeway to
the central structure.
Wall detail of apsara figures, Angkor Wat
Celestial nymphs
Angkor Wat is famous for having more than 3000 beguiling apsaras (heavenly
nymphs) carved into its walls. Each of them is unique, and there are 37
different hairstyles for budding stylists to check out. Many of these
exquisite apsaras were damaged during efforts to clean the temples with
chemicals during the 1980s, but they are being restored by the teams with the
German Apsara Conservation Project. Bat urine and droppings also degrade
the restored carvings over time.
The level of detail
Visitors to Angkor Wat are struck by its imposing grandeur and, at close
quarters, its fascinating decorative flourishes. Stretching around the outside of
the central temple complex is an 800m-long (2624ft) series of intricate and
astonishing bas-reliefs – carvings depicting historical events and stories from
mythology.
At its simplest, a defensive wall consists of a wall enclosure and its gates. For
the most part, the top of the walls were accessible, with the outside of the walls
having tall parapets with embrasures or merlons. North of the Alps, this
passageway at the top of the walls occasionally had a roof.
In addition to this, many different enhancements were made over the course of
the centuries:
City ditch: a ditch dug in front of the walls, occasionally filled with water.
Gate tower: a tower built next to, or on top of the city gates to better
defend the city gates.
Wall tower: a tower built on top of a segment of the wall, which usually
extended outwards slightly, so as to be able to observe the exterior of the
walls on either side. In addition to arrow slits, ballistae, catapults and
cannons could be mounted on top for extra defence.
Pre-wall: wall built outside the wall proper, usually of lesser height – the
space in between was usually further subdivided by additional walls.
Additional obstacles in front of the walls.
The defensive towers of west and south European fortifications in the Middle
Ages were often very regularly and uniformly constructed (cf. Ávila, Provins),
whereas Central European city walls tend to show a variety of different styles.
In these cases the gate and wall towers often reach up to considerable heights,
and gates equipped with two towers on either side are much rarer. Apart from
having a purely military and defensive purpose, towers also played a
representative and artistic role in the conception of a fortified complex. The
architecture of the city thus competed with that of the castle of the noblemen
and city walls were often a manifestation of the pride of a particular city.
Urban areas outside the city walls, so-called Vorstädte, were often enclosed by
their own set of walls and integrated into the defense of the city. These areas
were often inhabited by the poorer population and held the "noxious trades". In
many cities, a new wall was built once the city had grown outside of the old
wall. This can often still be seen in the layout of the city, for example
in Nördlingen, and sometimes even a few of the old gate towers are preserved,
such as the white tower in Nuremberg. Additional constructions prevented the
circumvention of the city, through which many important trade routes passed,
thus ensuring that tolls were paid when the caravans passed through the city
gates, and that the local market was visited by the trade caravans.
Furthermore, additional signaling and observation towers were frequently built
outside the city, and were sometimes fortified in a castle-like fashion. The
border of the area of influence of the city was often partially or fully defended
by elaborate ditches, walls and hedges. The crossing points were usually
guarded by gates or gate houses. These defenses were regularly checked by
riders, who often also served as the gate keepers. Long stretches of these
defenses can still be seen to this day, and even some gates are still intact. To
further protect their territory, rich cities also established castles in their area of
influence. An example of this practice is the Romanian Bran Castle, which was
intended to protect nearby Kronstadt (today's Braşov).
The city walls were often connected to the fortifications of hill castles via
additional walls. Thus the defenses were made up of city and castle
fortifications taken together. Several examples of this are preserved, for
example in Germany Hirschhorn on the Neckar, Königsberg and Pappenheim,
Franken, Burghausen in Oberbayern and many more. A few castles were more
directly incorporated into the defensive strategy of the city
(e.g. Nuremberg, Zons, Carcassonne), or the cities were directly outside the
castle as a sort of "pre-castle" (Coucy-le-Chateau, Conwy and others). Larger
cities often had multiple stewards – for example Augsburg was divided into
a Reichstadt and a clerical city. These different parts were often separated by
their own fortifications.
Walls of the Bukhara Ark
The main materials used to construct Angkor Wat were sandstone and
laterite (a clayey soil and rock material rich in iron and aluminum). Sandstone
was used as the main material for visible parts of the temple. Laterite was
mainly used for the hidden structures. The massive sandstone bricks used to
construct the 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat were brought to the site via a
network of hundreds of canals, according to new research. ... The complex was
built to honor the Hindu god Vishnu, but 14th-century leaders converted the
site into a Buddhist temple.
The massive sandstone bricks used to construct the 12th-century temple of
Angkor Wat were brought to the site via a network of hundreds of canals,
according to new research.
The monument was made out of five to ten million sandstone blocks with a
maximum weight of 1.5 tons each. The entire city of Angkor used far greater
amounts of stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and occupied an
area significantly greater than modern-day Paris. Is Angkor Wat built on sand?
Eight buried towers and the remains of a massive spiral structure created from
sand have been discovered at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The massive structure
— almost a mile long — contains a spiral design, with several rectangular
spirals that form a giant structure, archaeologists say. The massive sandstone
bricks used to construct the 12th-century temple of Angkor Wat were brought
to the site via a network of hundreds of canals, according to new research. The
findings shed light on how the site's 5 million to 10 million bricks, some
weighing up to 3,300 pounds, made it to the temple from quarries at the base
of a nearby mountain. Archaeologist knew that the rock came from quarries at
the base of a mountain nearby, but wondered how the sandstone bricks used
to build Angkor Wat reached the site. Previously people thought the stones
were ferried to Tonle Sap Lake via canal, and then rowed against the current
through another river to the temples.
The Bayon temple is made out of stone towers.
Such huge and serenely smiling faces are carved on stone towers throughout
the Bayon Temple at Angkor Thom, literally "Great City." Angkor Thom was a
fortified city built from the early eleventh to the late twelfth centuries A.D.
during the reigns from Suryavarman I to Jayavarman VII.
