Category:Ancient Reservoir

This category refers to man-made reservoirs dating to the Angkor or pre-Angkor periods. Larger such sites are generally referred to as barays; smaller, often more decorative, ones as srahs, while a trapeang refers to a small reservoir or pond. Barays would usually correspond to an ancient city site while srahs more often to a specific temple. Trapeangs may be intrinsic features of a temple or may just function as a local water source for a village or district. Of course, there is frequent overlap between these categories and names from site to site.

To ensure that we don't list every single little pond in Southeast Asia, we have decided on the following criteria for listing:

1. all large reservoirs will have it's own listing, even if the reservoir is associated with an already listed temple or city

2. only small and medium reservoirs that are clearly not associated with a temple site will receive it's own listing. If/once a temple site has been found around the small or medium reservoir, and the temple site is listed, the reservoir entry will be removed.

The size classifications are as followed;

Small 100m to 299m wide

Medium 300m to 599m wide

Large anything larger than 600m

Note, we say ancient reservoirs and while certain are still full of water today, many are now either dry all year or water-filled during certain periods only, others are used as paddy-fields or farmland and certain have become overgrown swamps or marshland.

• 

  Baray at Prasat Muang Tam, Buriram, with Phanom Rung in the background

• 

  Trapeang Totoeng Thngai at Rolous

• 

  Many ancient reservoirs are today paddy-fields and agricultural land. (East Baray)

• 

  Srah Srang - one of the most picturesque and popular reservoirs

• 

  West Baray on a busy weekend. (What would Suryavarman have thought?)