That Ban That
| Native Name | ທາດ ບ້ານທາດ, ថាតបានថាត |
|---|---|
| Alternative name | Ban That, Prasat Ban That, That Sam Pang, Phra That Sampang |
| BA# | L16042 |
| CISARK# | 876 |
| IK# | 338 |
| K Inscription | K.364 |
| Inscr. Location | Unknown |
| Size | Medium |
| Condition | Intact |
| Type | Temple |
| Location | |
| Part of | That Ban That |
| District | Soukhoumma |
| Province | Champassak |
| Country | Laos |
| Coordinates | 14.70652, 105.74337 |
| History | |
| Founded | Late 11th Century (?) |
| Builder | Udayadityavarman II (?) |
| Art Style | Baphuon |
| Material | Sandstone |
That Ban That (ທາດ ບ້ານທາດ - Pronounced: Taat Ban Taat)
Not to be confused with the similarly-named Ban That on the east bank of the Mekong, this site appears to date to a slightly more recent period than many of the brick tower structures in the region and consists of 3 intact sandstone towers. Both factors going some way to explaining why it is also better preserved than most. Furthermore, the temple site is situated within the confines of a large village rather than a far-flung jungle site and lies close to the ancient highway, some 15kms west of the Mekong River.
The towers of That Ban That may lack the picturesque roots and creepers of That Nang Ing and That Ban Don but the site is a lot more accessible and, free of vegetation, the layout is more easily discerned.
The site consists of 3 east-facing towers of solid appearance sited on a laterite terrace with the damaged, northernmost of the 3 slightly set back from the central and southern shrines. Traces of a moat and possible enclosing wall are visible on satellite images while a large baray, still containing water, is situated approximately 300m east. (See Baray That Ban That.) The alignment of both temple and reservoir is 5 degrees north of east-west. Traces of a smaller, now dry, reservoir can also be seen 200m to the northeast.
Unfortunately, the towers are devoid of any decorative elements and were apparently never completed with colonettes left uncarved, lintels missing and no sign of any pediments. The lintels were possibly either never added in the first place or have been subsequently removed and it would be interesting to check in the now-closed Champassak Provincial Museum, as it reportedly housed some lintels from the southern part of the province. (It's also curious as to why anyone would place uncarved colonettes in position as we'd always assumed they were carved beforehand?)
A notable exception to the lack of decor however are the small elephant statues placed on modern plinths at 3 of the temple corners, although we're not convinced the rather comical-looking pachyderms are contemporary with the temple site. (Verification required.)
With little to go on, dating varies from the 11th to 12th centuries although, allowing ourselves a moment of speculation, we'd suggest Baphuon-period as a possibility. In any case, with substantial quantities of sandstone employed and the large baray to the east the site was clearly an important one.
Finally, note that an inscribed stele, featuring a lengthy text in Sanskrit was unearthed here although, with a provisional late 6th-century date, is clearly far earlier than the site as seen today. Whether this means the 11th-century temple was constructed over the top of an earlier one is debatable and, as far as we know, no brick fragments can be seen. It's conceivable that the stele was brought from another location and, with a second moment of speculation, the aforementioned northern baray features a possible tree-covered tuol site immediately to the east and may represent an earlier temple site rather than being associated with That Ban That itself.
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