The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. XLIV, Part 1-2, 1956 - Khamkoo

INTRODUCTION
The sancLmtl'Y which formK tlte snhjecl of. Lltis :tl'Lic1e has,
after centuries of oblivion, commenced to attract world notice in the
last half cenLnry or so. ArchcolngislR certainly, an1l I?rench colonialists,
have known of it before others. Phra Vihar is !liKtingnished
for its majestic ensemble and situation, towering, as it does, over the
Cambodian plains from the highlanr1s of Siam. It is still difficult
of access from the Siamese side, and is still more so from the
Cambodian, where the steep promontory on whieh it is perched is
practically inaccessible except through Siamese territory.
The approach to the sul>ject by the author is that of the
explorer more than the archeologist. M1·. Black has of eonrse hail
wide travelling experience which entitle!l him to his Fe 1lowsbip of
the Royal Geographical Society of Gl'eat Britain. 'l'he attention he
pays to what seems to be extraneous i11formation in the form of
legend and tradition deserves commendation. Legend and tradition
have helped in the past to solve problems of s