| Abstract: |
Kampot, one of the southern provinces of Cambodia, features calcareous mountains which house numerous caves. The caves are best known for the inscriptions discovered at the beginning of the century and dating from the sixth, ninth, and tenth century Śaka. One of these inscriptions was discovered at Phnom Trotung. It is a digraphical inscription of Yaśovarman located in a cave on the east side of the hill. The importance of the discovery has led researchers to focus precisely on this area and it has drawn away the interest from a second cave located on the north side of the phnom. This one, located on the hill side, is accessed through a narrow opening. It houses an ancient temple perfectly preserved as well as a modern place of worship. In its conception, the temple can be compared with a similar one, Phnom Khyang, also located in the Kampot region, which has already been formally studied. Besides the underground location of the temples and their structural characteristics, the most remarkable feature is the way the builders have used the natural elements of the caves for religious and symbolic purposes. We will try to characterize the importance of these monuments in the context of the history of ancient Cambodian architecture.
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