Ta Som Temple

Ta Som (Khmer: ប្រាសាទតាសោម) is a small temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built at the end of the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII. It is located north east of Angkor Thom and just east of Neak Pean. The King dedicated the temple to his father Dharanindravarman II (Paramanishkalapada) who was King of the Khmer Empire from 1150 to 1160. The temple consists of a single shrine located on one level and surrounded by enclosure laterite walls. Like the nearby Preah Khan and Ta Prohm the temple was left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.^[1] In 1998, the World Monuments Fund (WMF) added the temple to their restoration program and began work to stabilise the structure to make it safer for visitors.

Was built by the king Jayavarman VII at the end of 12^th century dedicated to Buddha and Ta Som wasn’t restored and it was a small quiet. Temple and can a ford delightful visit because it 4 faces of Buddhisatwaavalokitesvara at the west entry of the temple there was a banyon tree its roots intertwined  but this tree was cut off by Khmer rouge during 1975-1979 and this temple was use as their camp and a hospital too.

            Ta Som is a single temple with a level surrounded by 3 enclosing walls. The east and the west entry was decorated by 4 faces of buddhisatwaavalokitesvara second enclosing wall was built of later rite and sandstone and the next enclosing wall has the gallery made of later rite and sandstone.

Structure

Designed to be entered from the east, Ta Som is surrounded by a moat and enclosed by three laterite walls which are broken by two sets of gopura (entrance ways). The gopuras are cross-shaped and contain a small room on each side along with windows containing balusters. The main structure of the gopura are carved with four faces in the Bayon style.^[3] The eastern outer gopura has been overgrown by a sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) which has grown down through the blocks that make up the gopura and into the ground.^[4] The inner section of the temple consists of a central cruciform sanctuary with porches at each arm surrounded by four corner pavilions. Two small libraries sit on either side of the eastern entrance path

Restoration

According to the APSARA Authority who manage the temples in the Angkor Park, little restoration work had been done at Ta Som until the 1950s. At this time some propping of structures that were near collapse was carried out. After the WMF added Ta Som to their project, the WMF team began to document and interpret the site and carry out emergency stabilization of fragile structures and improvement to visitor flow around the monument.^[6] In 2007, WMF and the APSARA Authority conducted clearing and documentation works that allowed the temple to be accessed from all four sides. Many sandstone blocks were repaired and this allowed the reconstruction of the North Central Fronton of the North Gopura.