{"id":107,"date":"2020-08-18T02:05:33","date_gmt":"2020-08-18T02:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/?page_id=107"},"modified":"2026-03-19T16:18:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T16:18:26","slug":"ankor-vihara-cambodia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/?page_id=107","title":{"rendered":"Angkor Vihara (Cambodia)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ANGKOR VIHARA PROJECT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EXPLORING THERAVADA BUDDHIST MONASTIC CONSTRUCTION AT ANGKOR THOM, CAMBODIA<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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West Gate of Angkor Thom, Cambodia.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Angkor Vihara Project (AVP), directed by Archaeology Centre Research Associate Dr. Andrew Harris (Anthropology \u201921), investigates religious transformation, social change, and population resilience at the capital of Angkor, Cambodia, through the adoption of Therav\u0101da Buddhist practices and infrastructures within the urban citadel of Angkor Thom (c. 13th<\/sup> -16th<\/sup> centuries). Traditionally, Cambodian religion was dominated by monumental temple complexes, including Angkor Wat, commissioned by Angkor\u2019s Hindu and Mahayana Buddhist kings to reinforce royal authority over local elites and the landscape. By the 13th<\/sup> century, Therav\u0101da Buddhism had spread across Angkor\u2019s western frontiers, gradually supplanting earlier Hindu and Mahayana traditions. This transition is reflected in the shift from monumental temple construction to wooden prayer halls (vihara<\/em>), known archaeologically as \u201cBuddhist Terraces\u201d and marked by surviving sandstone and laterite foundations surrounded by sema <\/em>boundary stones. More than seventy of these structures remain within Angkor Thom alone, shaping the city\u2019s socio-political organization, urban layout, and community life. The rise of these monastic complexes also coincided with the decline of Angkor, notably the collapse of its low-density agro-urban network beginning in the 13th<\/sup> century and the gradual eastward shift of political power toward the Mekong Delta by the 1400s.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Soutmon\u00a0<\/em>(offering) ceremony conducted by monks from Tep Pranam Monastery, Angkor Thom, during 2019 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

AVP investigations have combined systematic survey, structural clearance, and targeted excavation to document and analyse Angkor Thom\u2019s surviving Buddhist Terraces alongside the urban history of late Angkor. Early survey work (2017-2018) ground-truthed potential vihara<\/em> sites using historic maps, LiDAR, and GIS, while subsequent seasons (2019, 2022-2025) have comprised structural clearance, 3D mapping, subsurface sediment coring, ground-penetrating radar survey, and the excavation of over fifty test pits and larger trenches across seven Buddhist Terrace sites. Of note are excavations of Buddhist Terrace ATV009 (2023-2025), near Angkor Thom\u2019s central Bayon temple, a multi-phase monastic site that has helped redefine construction and occupation trends in Angkor\u2019s final centuries, and ATV027 (2022, 2025), where possibly the first later-period statue production sites in Angkor was identified, revealing the scale and diversity of monastic craft and religious activity within a more decentralized urban landscape. Important initial results include the redefinition of Angkor Thom\u2019s major monastic building boom to the 13th\u201314th centuries, whereas previous scholarship associated these activities with the 16th-century restoration of Angkor Wat as a Buddhist pilgrimage site.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Excavation of important architectural juncture between older (\u201ccruciform\u201d) and newer (\u201clateral\u201d) substructures of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d, 2024 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Excavation of easternmost porch of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d, 2025 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Wall of \u201cCruciform\u201d segment of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d. Our walk to work in 2023, 2024, 2025.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In sum, research by AVP has thus far demonstrated how religious practice, community organization, and adaptation to environmental and political change were negotiated through Angkor Thom\u2019s re-envisioned built environment. In this way, studies of Buddhist Terrace complexes have not only revealed patterns of social and religious transition, but also how communities responded and adapted to environmental pressures and shifting geopolitical landscapes over time. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Two seated Buddha bases from the main Central Sanctuary (balang<\/em>) of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d, Angkor Thom, 2024 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Upcoming fieldwork will focus on the clearance of additional Buddhist Terrace sites in the Northeast Quadrant of Angkor Thom for purposes of documentation and preservation, using GPR survey to reconstruct a major, partially buried monastic complex east of Angkor Thom\u2019s Preah Pithu temple complex, and investigating the citadel\u2019s later urban history through sediment coring of now-dried ponds, moats, and canals.<\/p>\n\n\n

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A sample of over sixty Buddha statues and fragments excavated from the Central Sanctuary pedestal ruins (balang<\/em>) of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d, 2024 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

We thank Cambodia\u2019s APSARA National Authority for all past and future permissions to complete fieldwork, as well as the local sangha<\/em> (monastic order) for conducting site blessings at the beginning of each excavation.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Partially-carved reclining Buddha (Parinirvana<\/em>) statue excavated from area believed to be a later Angkorian statue workshop\/statue production area of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV027\u201d, 2025 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Buddhist Terrace\/vihara (modern name: Preah Ngok) converted into modern image house, north of Bayon temple, Angkor Thom.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Remains of Chinese tradeware vessel imported from China to Cambodia c. 14th<\/sup>-16th<\/sup>\u00a0centuries used for burial. Found at the base of Buddhist Terrace \u201cATV009\u201d easternmost steps, 2025 AVP Season.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Primary Investigator: 
<\/strong>Andrew Harris
andrewsrharris712@gmail.com<\/a>
https:\/\/nus.academia.edu\/AndrewHarris<\/a>
https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Andrew-Harris-39<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Select Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A., Tin, T., Chhay R., and Vitou, P. (2023) \u201cBroken Buddhas, Burials, and Sanctuary-Adjacent Sanctuaries: Ancestral Animist Archaeologies of Angkor\u2019s Ancient Places and Things. World Archaeology<\/em>, 55(2), 167-188, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/00438243.2024.2354807<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A. (2023) S\u012bm\u0101 Boundary Markers of Angkor: A Critical Reappraisal. Artibus Asiae<\/em>, 82(2), 141-178.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A., Tin, T., Soeng, S., He, H., Chheng, V., and Chhouk, S. (2022) Towards a Temporal Assessment of Angkor Thom\u2019s Theravada \u201cBuddhist Terrace\u201d Archaeology. Asian Archaeology<\/em>, 6, 167-183. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s41826-022-00056-y<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A. (2019) An Old Ritual Capital, A New Ritual Landscape: Understanding the Transformation of Angkor Thom, Cambodia, through the Construction and Placement of Theravada \u201cBuddhist Terraces\u201d. Medieval Worlds<\/em>, 9, 4-62.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technical\/Field Reports (Available by Request)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A., Shimoda, M., Chhay, R., Chhun, S., and Monteith, F. (2024) Angkor Vihara Project Activity Report, 2024 Field Season: February 5th<\/sup> \u2013 March 8th<\/sup>, 2024. Presented to APSARA Authority in July 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A., Chhay, R., Vitou, P., San, K., Soeng, S., He, H., Chheng, V., Monteith, F., Shimoda, M., Brotherson, D., Berquist, S., and Vranich, A. (2023) Angkor Vihara Project Phase I – Final Report (2019, 2022, and 2023 \u201cBuddhist Terrace\u201d\/Preah Vihear <\/em>Archaeological Campaigns). Presented to APSARA National Authority in April 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A., Vitou, P., San, K., and Berquist, S. (2022) Angkor Vihara Project Activity Report, 2022 Field Season: February 21st<\/sup> \u2013 March 18th<\/sup>, 2022. Presented to APSARA National Authority in September 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harris, A. and Soeng, S. (2019) Angkor Vihara Project Activity Report, 2019 Field Season: January 7th<\/sup> \u2013 February 8th<\/sup>, 2019. Presented to APSARA National Authority in July 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\nngg_shortcode_0_placeholder\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANGKOR VIHARA PROJECT EXPLORING THERAVADA BUDDHIST MONASTIC CONSTRUCTION AT ANGKOR THOM, CAMBODIA The Angkor Vihara Project (AVP), directed by Archaeology Centre Research Associate Dr. Andrew Harris (Anthropology \u201921), investigates religious transformation, social change, and population resilience at the capital of Angkor, Cambodia, through the adoption of Therav\u0101da Buddhist practices and infrastructures within the urban citadel […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-107","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry","6":"has-post-thumbnail"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3400,"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/107\/revisions\/3400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archaeology.utoronto.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}