Angkor~~Prasat Ak Yum

Prasat Ak Yum is located in the south of western baray, approximately a kilometer before the western end, Ak Yum is the earliest known temple mountain architectural design, built in the 7th to 9th century. Inscriptions indicate that a temple dedicated to the Hindu. Ak Yum is regarded as the oldest Angkor ruin in the area.

At first glance, the ruins of Prasat Ak Yum appear to be nothing more than a pile of rubbish. For this reason, many travelers and organized tours steer clear of this obscure monument. But for the serious Angkor enthusiast, Prasat Ak Yum is a must-see gateway into the per-Angkorian period of the Khmer people.
Prasat Ak Yum was constructed sometime in the 8th century. It is the earliest known example of the ‘temple-mountain’. In essence, a temple-mountain is a mound or platform that is made of stone and/or other earthen materials. Typically, another structure is erected on top of the mound. In the case of Prasat Ak Yum, a prasat (tower) was erected on the mound. Prasat Ak Yum’s mound is a zigurrat, or step pyramid. A step pyramid is a structure made up of several layers, stacked on top of one another. Each ascending layer is smaller than the one before it.

The temple-mountain architectural formula of Prasat Ak Yum paved the way for the more famous temples of the Angkor period, most notably Angkor Wat.Ancient inscriptions located on some of the temple’s jamb stones reveal that the patron deity of Prasat Ak Yum was Gambhiresvara, the Hindu god of the depths.

During the construction of the West Baray, which is located immediately to the north of it, parts of Ak Yum was built over. It is not certain which Khmer king built this monument. Ak Yum were re-used during the reign of Jayavarman I. Similarly, the ruins as visible today was built over the original structure.
This temple, a little to away of the major monuments of Angkor is not of great interest for a tourist but is archaeologically very important. Inscriptions indicate the first construction to this temple in 609, which makes of him the oldest per-Angkorian vestige found at this date. It was located on the road of first Angkor , and was partially buried during the construction of Phnom Bakheng, then definitively buried at the beginning of the XII° century during the installation of the dams of Baray.

 Since this prasat construction a bit  poor, therefore we by pass it, and took a photo on the van.