PRASAT BAK

The Khmer name reflects the dilapidated state of this laterite temple which lies some 2500 metres south of the south- west corner of the Rahal. Although the building itself has long since collapsed, its special feature was the presence of a huge sandstone statue of a seated Ganesha, which could still be seen until the outbreak of the Cambodian hostilities in the 1970s. It was sculpted on its elaborate pedestal from a single rock. Prasat Bak is probably the only Khmer temple dedicated solely to the worship of Ganesha, the god of intelligence, as symbolised by his bulging head. The statue had survived the ravages of time more or less intact until looters in search of treasure knocked it over, breaking the forehead and trunk, and causing further damage to the right arm and the left tusk.