Category:Ratanakiri Province

Map Keys
	Large Prasats		Arogyasalas
	Large Ruins		Dharmasalas
	Medium Prasats		Ancient Bridges
	Medium Ruins		Ancient Cities
	Medium Tuols		Ancient Kilns
	Small Prasats		Ancient Quarries
	Small Ruins		Ancient Reservoirs
	Small Tuols		Ancient Villages
	Museums		Carvings
	Depositories		Other Structures
	Wats		Prehistoric Sites
	Neak Ta's		Unknown Sites
	Unconfirmed Sites

This very remote province in northeastern Cambodia lies to the north of Mondulkiri and abuts Laos's Attapeu Province to the north and Vietnam's Kom Tum and Gia Lai in the east. Ratanakiri ('beautiful mountains' in Sanskrit) is still largely covered in forested hills with a very low population density and the scarcity of ancient vestiges implies the region has changed little over the centuries.

The area may have been a useful trading source for valuable forest products and the Srepok River does eventually wind its way onto what are today Vietnam's Central Highlands providing a possible, albeit torturous, transport link. However, 1000 years ago there would still have been plentiful and more accessible jungle areas while much easier routes to the Cham lands lay south and north of here. Even the rare ancient sites so far identified are therefore difficult to explain.

The location and style of Prasat Yak Nang, in our opinion, point more to a Cham shrine, while the unverified site of Prasat O Preah may correspond to a very remote trading and/or military point on the Srepok River. The 2 adjacent brick touls of Prasat O Preah and Kroes Prasat Preah Puth are likely to correspond to early Khmer sites although their location, some 10kkms south of the San River, is curious.

As much of the province is still forest-covered it is plausible that additional sites may still lie undiscovered.