More bas-relief. At the bottom men fight as onlookers (perhaps supernatural beings?) look on:
Merchants? Men playing a game?
Men - perhaps soldiers - marching through a forest:
More dancers:
One of the faces of Bayon Wat:
Another. This (or a picture like it) may have been one you have seen before:
Even in decline, the temple is impressive.
The bas relief are so interesting because they give glimpses of their lifestyle. Can't help but wonder what some of them depict, like the first one with everyone seated in boxes of sorts.
ReplyDeleteLeigh, in some cases these are all the records we have of their lives (visually or written, anyway). We are fortunate that they include some things that are not specifically militarily based.
DeleteAs fate would have it, last night's episode of Nova on PBS was on Angkor. You may want to check it out when you get back. One of the fascinating aspects they brought up is that there haven't been any bodies found on the site despite hundreds of thousands of people living there.
ReplyDeleteEd - Thanks for the heads up; I will look for it.
DeleteInteresting note about the bodies. I wonder if - as the site itself was considered a religious one - bodies were disposed of elsewhere as a form of religious purity? Also, the climate there likely makes pretty quick work of most organic materials, including those we consist of.
I recall them looking for a place where bodies were disposed of for birds to clean and another site where ritual cremation might have happened but neither place have been located. I think you are right though that climate itself was likely helping out in removing any remains from existence.
DeleteCremation is a commonly accepted practice in Buddhism, so that may also have played a part. Certainly in Japan, land is at a premium for burial grounds.
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