Around the shrine, carved horizontal bands carry a series of repeated decorative motifs. The upper band decoration appears similar to that which decorates the edge of the naga bridge. Blind niches would originally have been decorated; the holes that were drilled in the stone, visible in the photograph, probably held fixing elements to help attach the stucco. According to John Sanday (Millennium of Glory, pp.89-90), irregularly-spaced holes like these were used in stuccoing, whereas regularly-spaced holes, in temples such as Preah Khan, were used for the attachment of bronze plaques.