The Ordway new era., 1922-07-07

"'''ith dDUut this N
plain. including Angkor Tom o,,,
mile away; but these are ali n,
indeed, while the wat" might stll
called n building.
Standing in front of the tsn,
grounds (the word wat means i, u
ple). you see moat some 30 M
wide surrounding the premises III,
medieval castle, and crossed by a ru
causeway leading to the main ep,ny
This entrance is itself massive to,,
fianked by two others only Nh
smaller, set in the inclosing wall ii
whole inclosure is 800 BY 1000 n
ters, and its area is Therefore ii
acres. Passing through the entnw
you see the elevated stone causesi
hanked by several temples, leading
to the wat In the distance.
At a distance you get the efet
lateral magnitude only, for the eata
structure or group of structures i d
ting fiat on level plain, unasplt,
and almost uninsplring. 1t Is not
little surprising TO look at the cearl
tower and hear that it is actually
meters (213 feeD from Its summit
the level of the plain.
1t is not till one enters the galsia
and begins to measure distances ID
atively therefrom that the grandds
and impressiveness of the cCnrepha
begin to make themselves felt Iha
same rounded towers now spring sld
and the inner temple is raised aDd'
n surrounding gallery, which is iniEf
terraced above an outer and surrou
ing gallery, till the roof of the an'
Is on level with the base Of The
mer. These two encompasslns Hus
les and the cruciform temple bai0l
proper within them are the main
tails In the ground plan of the Wal
The material used Throughout 10
construction Is a graylsh sahaSa
which the French call "gres'' II n@
resembles marble in closeness
fineness of grain, and 1t STANDS Wau
ering admirably. Where por'lOl.
the decorative detail had been als
tionately caressed and stroked Hi
miring hands, the stone Is as sl% Y
as polished marble. The eflect VI
color is certainly as somber as c
be conceived, and to see 1t in ruin
painfully suggestive of the srasne
death.
Covered With Carvings
And all of these tons upon too,
stone were brought from flou ~. .,.,a|
nearly 10 miles away. HOW, o,'. III
impossible. If that submerged IVY
| could tell Its own history We ~ IN
probably hear of time wnsu . 4 s,,'
Pnom Coulen and Angkor were \. ~ "
ated upon the margin OF lOn. ..a 4,
and the stone barges went ,,mnss, " r
between them. But that trlunpIs. \,
forest. having driven back the * s- n A
made n malarial marsh neai y" ,r.,or
which is simply one OIL i''
offensive. ..,re IL b
n the mass of the structure y,
nressive. the amount Of ue,vj Vi
work done upon it, to spsA' rsdI
ouantitatively, is still more .a,tom' ~, +
| and outside, from top to oo.'' 4
a mass of carving in stone. .,ont
blank spaces are to be founa avsu .a,slI,
building, and these are ser the 70
IN e1e the a,n GREATER artists who never srss a
Both m the enclrcllng galleries ,ss's ,ss %
n row of square columns S " .hoye
side. an arch en- corbeille .h,sturs SU
an inner wall with an entaD,r,r,ttt h sssr,tt
the whole colonnade. Ana ,'nss ., Il
is is decorated-the four fla fiat satss,t' fatss
columns, the walls, the ,,an eM't fOrns
and the wooden ceiling w,,,A ,,ns the i
rested upon 1t. concea
which is unornamented' :, when
who built these ruins anu W."
they build them? .,.,n but
The Khmers built thepn nome d
they were, where they and api
when and why they buill, ,ady a1 is
why they disappeared. .a,nty Unity II
able to answer with ,a,leced
tIon in the person of an. an a,''e = pow.
nese historian says tna. :, india
ruler once emlgrated from still stlll
all his followers to escape a.ubjus
powerful ruler; that at ns and put I
the, people he found mere .~normous NOR
to work erecting these EN- enp' the q
Aces Of stone. At presem,, eamm,,,dIns
guess as to the date Of O0''
follows: -. Ninth 81
For Angkor Tom, the oIsn n Of A
A. D., or during the le'sF Tor 40
the Great in England. .,nry. ~ OF
wat. the Twelfth rcorques
v..-. after the Norman ~