Prasat Basaet

Prasat Basaet

Prasat Basaet (or Basaet temple) is a small sandstone temple located approximately 11km northeast of the city of Battambang. It was built in the early 11th century during the reign of Suryavarman I and known epigraphically as Jayaksetra. There is not specific mention of Basaet in inscriptions prior to the Angkorian period, however some scholars have suggested that Basaet may have been an important holy site prior to the construction of the temple in the 11^th century.

Several French scholars visited the Prasat Basaet site. The French explorer Henri Mouhot visited Basaet on his way to and from Angkor, and noted that the temple was in poor condition with collapsed towers and thick vegetation. He stated that approximately 100 years earlier there was a large population at Basaet that had been depleted due to conflict between Thailand and Cambodia. Auguste Pavie also affirmed that Old Battambang was centered around Basaet and that the provincial capital of Battambang town was established in its current location in 1835. By the turn of the 20^th century, Etienne Aymonier also observed that little standing architecture remained at this site.

Multiple inscriptions from Prasat Basaet, coupled with pre-Angkorian and Angkorian-period statuary now housed at the Battambang Museum, suggest that the Basaet temple site likely contains Pre- Angkorian, Angkorian and Post-Angkorian habitation.