Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s17.t3.13

v6.c41.s17.t3.13

There can be no doubt about the sceintific skill of the architects who built the great Cambodian structures, cities, roads, and bridges. By way of an illustration, Fergusson refers to their mechanical skill employed in constructing the roofs of great structures wholly of hewn stone, without the aid either of wood or concrete or cement of any kind, and in dovetailing and joining them so beautifully that they remain watertight and perfect after at least five centuries of neglect in a tropical climate. ‘When we put all these things together,’ concludes Fergusson, ‘it is difficult to decide whether we ought most to admire the mechanical skill which the Cambodian architects displayed in construction or the largeness of conception and artistic merit which pervades every part of their design.’²