{{Short description|Buddhist temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia}} {{Infobox Buddhist temple | name = Ta Som | religious_affiliation = Buddhism | image = Gopura du temple Ta Som (Angkor) (6973281033).jpg | alt = | caption = Inner gopura of Ta Som temple | map_type = Cambodia | map_caption = Location in Cambodia | coordinates = {{coord|13|27|52|N|103|54|46|E|type:landmark_region:KH|display=inline,title}} | country = Cambodia | province = Siem Reap | district = | locale = Angkor Thom | elevation_m = | deity = Buddhist (dedicated to Dharanindravarman II) | festivals = | architecture = Bayon | temple_quantity = | monument_quantity = | inscriptions = | year_completed = end of 12th Century | creator = Jayavarman VII | website = }} {{Contains special characters|Khmer}} '''Ta Som''' ({{langx|km|ប្រាសាទតាសោម}}) is a Buddhist 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.<ref name="Rooney">{{cite book|last=Rooney|first=Dawn|title=Angkor|publisher=Odyssey Publications Ltd.|year=1999|edition=3rd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/angkorintroducti0000roon/page/190 190–191]|isbn=962-217-601-1|url=https://archive.org/details/angkorintroducti0000roon/page/190}}</ref> 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.<ref name="WMF">{{cite web|url=http://www.wmf.org/project/ta-som-temple|title=Ta Som|publisher=World Monuments Fund|access-date=12 January 2011}}</ref>
== 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.<ref name="Rooney" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/seasia/nature/nature05.html|title=Strangler Fig: Ta Som, Angkor |publisher=art and archeology.com|access-date=2009-05-01}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Rooney" />
== 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.<ref name="APSARA">{{cite web|url=http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/apsara/about_apsara/projects/wmf.htm|title=World Monuments Fund Project (WMF): Ta Som|year=2005|publisher=APSARA Authority|access-date=2009-05-03|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414065311/http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/apsara/about_apsara/projects/wmf.htm|archive-date=2013-04-14}}</ref> 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.<ref name="WMF report">{{cite web|url=http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/apsara/monuments/international%20news.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070430192122/http://www.autoriteapsara.org/en/apsara/monuments/international%20news.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2007-04-30 |title=Report on World Monuments Fund's Projects in Angkor |year=2008 |publisher=APSARA Authority |access-date=2009-05-03 }}</ref>
== Gallery ==
<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px" perrow="4"> File:Ta Som Temple.jpg|{{center|''Ta Som Temple''}} File:East Tower Ta Som Angkor1028.jpg|{{center|''East Tower''}} File:Ta Som, Angkor, Camboya, 2013-08-17, DD 14.JPG|{{center|''Ruins of the temple''}} File:Galerie du temple Ta Som (Angkor) (6827164344).jpg|{{center|''Gate of the gallery surrounded by two guards''}} File:Gopura oriental extérieur de Ta Som (Angkor) (6973168157).jpg|{{center|''Eastern gopuram''}} File:Ta Som, Angkor, Camboya, 2013-08-17, DD 03.JPG|{{center|''Apsara relief''}} File:Gupura I West Ta Som Angkor1018.jpg|{{center|''West gopura''}} File:Tasomeastgop3east.jpg|{{center|''Third eastern gopura, with strangler fig''}} </gallery>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== *{{cite book | author=Albanese, Marilia |title=The Treasures of Angkor | location=Vercelli | publisher=White Star Publishers| year=2006 | type = Paperback | isbn=88-544-0117-X}} *{{cite book |author1=Freeman, Michael |author2=Jacques, Claude |title=Ancient Angkor |location=Bangkok |publisher=River Books |year=2003 |type=Paperback |isbn=974-8225-27-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/ancientangkor00free }} *{{cite book |author1=Jessup, Helen Ibbitson |author2=Brukoff, Barry |title=Temples of Cambodia - The Heart of Angkor | location=Bangkok | publisher=River Books| year=2011 | type = Hardback | isbn=978-616-7339-10-8}}
== External links == {{Portal|Buddhism }}{{Buddhism topics}}{{Commons category|Ta Som}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100316132750/http://www.devata.org/2009/07/ta-som-devata-sacred-khmer-women-in-12th-century-cambodia/ Photo Gallery: Ta Som Devata - Sacred Khmer Women in 12th Century Cambodia]
{{Angkorian sites}} {{SiemReapProvince}}
Category:12th-century Buddhist temples Category:Buddhist temples in Siem Reap province Category:Angkorian sites in Siem Reap province Category:12th-century establishments in Asia Category:Buddhist temple ruins in Cambodia