Culture2017-07-08
Sambor Prei Kuk — a pre-Angkorian capital — is World Heritage
The temple zone of Sambor Prei Kuk ("the temple in the richness of the forest"), remains of the Ishanapura capital, was inscribed by UNESCO in 2017.
Sambor Prei Kuk, in Cambodia’s Kampong Thom province, is a pre-Angkorian archaeological complex of roughly 150 brick-and-sandstone Hindu temples grouped into three clusters. It was founded in the 7th century as Isanapura, capital of the Chenla Kingdom under King Isanavarman I (reigned 616–637 CE), and its structures show distinctive early Khmer features such as octagonal towers. UNESCO inscribed it as a World Heritage Site in 2017. Much of the site remained damaged by 20th-century bombing and landmines, which were only fully cleared in 2008.