A Khmer Temple on Khon Island in South Laos

A lost quincunx of towers at the Mekong cataract waterfall and some considerations on the pañcāyatana complexes in Khmer architecture

Abstract

The true quincunx is an exception in Khmer architecture and was essentially reserved for a small number of large monuments at Angkor. Beyond Angkor it occurs on a much more modest scale only at a few other sites, among them a temple hidden within the compound of Wat Ban Khon Tai on Don Khon in South Laos. Although the remains of this temple are in a poor state of preservation, the evidence reveals that the specific geographical situation at the Mekong cataract waterfall was important enough to construct a quincunx. The arrangement of five towers mirrors not only the Indian cosmogony focused on Mount Meru but also the pañcāyatana concept. Together with the stepped pyramid of indigenous origin the Khmer finally created an amalgam of Indian and local architectural perceptions culminating in the state temple-mountains of Angkor.