Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1893-12-16
THE RUINS OF ANCHOR.
They Form One of the Most Majestic Mon
uments of Antiquity In the World.


uments of Antiquity In the World.
Recent events have attracted atten-
tion to the great lake between Cam
bodia and Siam, Toule Sap, and to the
two Siamese provinces of Ang-Kor and
Battambong which adjoin it. A few
months ago the Progress de Saigon is
sued an account, illustrated by native |
wood engravings, of this great lake of
the two provinces and of the famous
ruins of Ang-Kor. The region is de-
scribed as lying to the north of Cochin
China, between Siam, the ocean, and
! the unknown Laos districts, and al
though now but thinly populated, it
/ was in former times the abode of q
race which was great among the
! peoples of the east, and which for long
centuries was governed by famous
| line of sovereigns. The great lake is
! formed during the rainy season by one
! of the branches of the Melkoug, and is
then navigable by large steamers,
which go to Siemreap at the head of
the lake, and near the ruins of Ang-
Kor, the greatest remains of Khmer
civilization.
These ruins were discovered by the
Portuguese and Spaniards in 1864, and
they were first described in n volume
published in Barcelona in the follow
ing century. There are CT inese ac-
counts OF a much earlier period, and
one of these written in the thirteenth
century by an ambassador'scnt to the
Cambodian court, was made known to
Europe by Abel Remusat. 1t includes
descriptions of the two famous temples
| zf III
which correspond with the ruins of the
present day. Since then they have
been investigated by French savants,
and quite splendid work on the sub
ject has been published by NJ. Fourne-
reau. 1t is thirty hours steam to
Pnom-Penh, the capital of Cambodia,
and thirty more to Siemreap. Ang-
Kor Wat, or Ang-Kor the Great, the
, royal pagoda, is the best preserved of
,, all the Khmer remains. Mouhot, who
, visited it in 1862, says it is more majes-
tic than any other monument of antiq-
uity that we possess. 1t occupies a
large rectangular park, LOST miles
long and s27 broad. The illustrations
> show numerous towers, vast terraces,
several subsidiary temples, innumer-
able figures of fantastic NEUROLOGICAL
= animals, galleries, colonnades, ave
:, nues, lakes bridges, etc. The surfaces
I of the large stones employed in the
;, buildings are covered with pictures ant
engravings, These huge blocks are
. believed to have been conveyed to the
;, great heights at which some of then
a are found by means of inclined planes
:, AngKor Thorn, which is q few mile
q away, is still more ancient and arount
. it are the ruins of the old Khmer cap
= ital, Preathong, which have. been in
vaded by the forest, giant banyan
:, having their roots below the founda
, tions and their branches among porti
4 cos and pillars covered with bas-reliefs
These latter, which are especially wei
r. preserved in the underground CALLER
" les, represent the national sports, sa
Is cred ceremonies and historical event
n of the Khmers. These are the tw
:. main Khmer monuments, but there ar
n hundreds of others scattered over
"a large area of the country, in the mids
q of what looks like primeval forest
y, Architect.