Angkor Borei and Phnom Da

The ancient Funan sites of Angkor Borei (Khmer: អង្គរបុរី, lit. 'city of cities') and Phnom Da (Khmer: ភ្នំដា, lit. 'stone mountain') are located in the Angkor Borei District, Takéo Province, of southern Cambodia. They are both in the southern part of Cambodia, about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the western split of Mekong river delta, 150 kilometres (93 mi) from the seacoast, near the Vietnam border and the Óc Eo site. The Angkor Borei site was likely an early capital and a region where southeast Asian culture and arts fused in the ancient times. Archaeological excavations have yielded items that are carbon dated to roughly 1523 BC and thereafter, many related to early Buddhism and Hinduism, confirming a continuous human settlement at least for some 500 years. They contain the earliest known dated Khmer inscriptions as well as what may be the earliest tradition of Khmer sculpture. In recent years, the archeological sites have attracted a growing number of tourists. At the same time, looting and illicit trafficking of antiquities continue as a serious problem in the area. Angkor Borei is particularly challenging area to perform archaeological research on because the site is inhabited today. Various areas have been heavily damaged by bulldozing, gardening, and other daily activities.

Like many ancient Asian sites, any initial information came from Chinese documents and accounts. Much archeology has uncovered various previously unknown artifacts and locations. Research has uncovered brick architecture, post holes for a large wooden structure, and a temple containing two Vishnu statues. Brick was not thought to have been used as early as 400 BC. Evidence suggests there may have been a moat or some kind of man made hydraulic system. A gold medallion reported to have been found in the region in 2012 carries a short Sanskrit legend on each face. Arlo Griffiths read them as īśānavarmma[ṇaḥ] and īśānapu(ra), which identifies the piece as a production of Isanavarman I of Chenla, and the obverse shows a recumbent humped bull, the vehicle of Śiva. Griffiths has since amended the reading, holding that the case endings need not be restored on so short a legend. Artifacts inc

Archaeological site data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).