Angkor Wat: Meaning Through Measurement. (Volumes I and II) (Architecture, Astronomy; Cambodia).

Angkor Wat was constructed in the first half of the twelfth century by King Suryavarman II (r. 1135 - ca. 1150 A.D.). The temple is located at Angkor, a site of more than a dozen major Khmer monuments constructed between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. With its graceful towers, its delicate exterior carving, and its general design, Angkor Wat represents the apogee of Khmer architecture. Because there are no extant Khmer treatises and books that date from the Angkorian period, we know very little about Angkor Wat. In order to uncover as much information as possible about the temple, the author translated its measurements from meters to the cubit length used in its construction. As a result of that "translation," it was soon apparent that the entire temple had been constructed according to specific measurement patterns. These patterns were based on numbers that held meaning in the solar and lunar calendars, the major Hindu time cycles, cosmology, and possible Khmer history. For example, the axes and circumference of the outermost enclosure of Angkor Wat record the solar and lunar years in their full lengths. The second gallery records numbers related to the moon, the god Brahma, and an architectural m and ala. In contrast, the third gallery or first level of the temple is dedicated to the history of the early reign of King Suryavarman. Possible calendrical dates occur in that gallery. There are also solar and lunar alignments at the temple, sighting lines which extend primarily from the long western causeway to the central towers of Angkor Wat. Based on the measurements of Angkor Wat, it is apparent that the various sectors of the temple were probably dedicated to specific themes and functions, and were related to each other in a logical progression from the outermost area of the temple to the central sanctuary. There is now a vast amount of information derived from the measurements of the temple which did not exist previously. This particular method of analysis has been very fruitful in regard to Angkor Wat, and may prove of some benefit in the examination of other Khmer monuments, and perhaps monuments in India and other countries in Asia as well.Ph.D.Fine artsUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/160561/1/8512463.pd