via Phnom Penh Post, 26 April 2023: Wat Svay Sach Phnom in Kampong Cham province has 32 pillars depicting the Reamker (Ramayana) and the dragon king. The pagoda was constructed in 1905 and was converted into a fertilizer production site during the Khmer Rouge regime, but the paintings on the pillars were covered in a mixture of dung and clay to keep them hidden and intact.
Although the gold paintings on the 32 pillars inside Wat Svay Sach Phnom are over 100-years-old, they remain remarkably vivid. Together they tell the story of the Reamker, Cambodia’s version of the Hindu epic the Ramayana, and the story of the dragon king.
The pagoda at the site is also called Ampavnaram and it is located in Svay Leu village of Svay Khsach Phnom commune in Kampong Cham province’s Srey Santhor district.
It would be easy for any passerby to fail to take note of the pagoda’s gate adorned with lion statues and to keep on walking past the compound, which is surrounded by trees and the sounds of forest wildlife.
Source: Kampong Cham pagoda’s pillars tell Reamker story | Phnom Penh Post
