The temple consists of low walls surrounding peaked structures of deep red sandstone. Banteay Srei means "Citadel of Women," and it is said that the reliefs on this temple are so delicate that they could only have been carved by the hand of a woman. The well-preserved relief carvings on the central buildings depict scenes from ancient Hindu tales.
It lies near the hill of Phnom Dei 25 km northeast of the main group of temples, where the capital of the time (Yashodharapura) was located.
The temple was subject to further expansion and rebuilding work in the 11th century. At some point it came under the control of the king and had its original dedication changed; an inscription of the early 12th century records the temple being given to the priest Divarakapandita and being rededicated to Shiva. It remained in use at least until the 14th century.
The temple's original name was Tribhuvanamahesvara — "great lord of the threefold world" — named as usual after the central image (in this case a Shaivite linga). The town of Isvarapura was centred on the temple. The modern name, Banteay Srei — "citadel of the women" or "citadel of beauty" — is generally taken to refer to the intricacy of the carving and the tiny dimensions of the architecture.
This endearing little temple was discovered by the French in 1914, and soon made news when in 1923, a young Andre Malraux - the future French Minister of Culture - was arrested for plundering it. The stolen bits were returned, albeit some of the original pieces are now put away for safekeeping while replicas take their seats.
The incident stimulated interest in the site, which was cleared the following year, and in the 1930s Banteay Srei was restored in the first important use of anastylosis at Angkor. Until the discovery of the foundation stela in 1936, it had been assumed that the extreme decoration indicated a later date than was in fact the case.
To prevent the site from water damage, the joint Cambodian-Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system between 2000 and 2003. Measures were also taken to prevent damage to the temples walls being caused by nearby trees.
two libraries