In this study, we analyze the transition process of the pyramid temple leading up to Angkor Wat erected in early 12th century in Khmer Architecture. The purpose of this study is to understand the composition of the temple complex and the method of construction in each era by verifying the relations between the foundation and the building.
An architectural book and a ruler of the Angkor period are unknown. Therefore, the inspection of the layout plan of the temple complex has been performed using the grid division found in Indian architecture books as reference. In this study, we focus on the differences between the master plan in Indian architecture books and the arrangement of the building in actual construction.
In this paper, we discuss positional relationship between the foundation and the building in Ta Kev constructed around 11th century. Assuming the datum point in the construction process as previously reported, we performed numerical inspection to derive the relationships between the foundation and the building based on the point. We found that the relationship greatly differed from those found in the previous two temple complexes.
In the previous temples, the north-south axis did not intersect perpendicularly with the east-west axis. The method of the layout building in the lower foundation changed to the layout related the foundation. However, in the upper foundation, the method arranged based on the main sanctuary were inherited.
In Ta Kev, the east-west axis and the north-south axis intersect perpendicularly. The lower foundation is arranged based on the main sanctuary and the upper foundation is arranged based on the lower foundation.
Through this study, we clarify the method of relating each part with a circle that was used in the center of the temple until then is used in the whole area of Ta Kev.