The Coconino weekly sun., 1894-03-22
yAe RUINS OF ANCHOR.
They Form One of the Most Ma jestie MUv~
 uments of Antiquity In the World.

They Form One Of the Most Ma iegtfe MUys
 uments of Antiquity in the World.
 Recent events have attracted atten- tion to the great lake between Cam bodia and Siam, Toule Sap, ana 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 race which was great among the peoples of the east, and which for long centuries was governed by famous line of sovereigns Tho great lake is formed during the rainy season by one of the branches of the Mekong, 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 volume published in Barcelona in the follow ing century. There are Chinese ac- counts of much earlier period, and one of these, written in the thirteenth century by an ambassador'sent to the Cambodian court, was made known to Europe by Abel Remusat. It includes descriptions of the two famous temples of Ang-Kor Wat and Ang-Kor Thom, 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. It 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, 1,0s7 miles long and S27 broad. The illustrations show numerous towers, vast terraces, several subsidiary temples, innumer- able figures of fantastic mythological animals galleries, colonnades. ave- nues, lakes, bridges, etc. The surfaces of the large stones employed in the buildings are covered with pictures and engravings. These huge blocks are believed to have been conveyed to the great heights at which some of them are found by means of inclined planes.
 Ang-Kor Thom, which is few miles away, is still more ancient and around it are the ruins of the old Khmer cap ital, Preathong, which have been in- vaded by the forest, giant banyans having their roots below the founda- tions and their branches among porti- cos and pillars covered with bas-reliefs. These latter, which are especially well preserved in the underground galler- ies, represent the national sports, sa- cred ceremonies and historical events of the Khmers. These are the two main khmer monuments. but there are hundreds of others scattered over large area of the country, in the midst of what looks like primeval forest Architect