at a glance Large stairways and long pillared causeway lead to the gopura of the first three levels of the mountain. The gopura are gateways leading into the sanctuary and probably had statues of guardians or minor deities installed in their rooms. The Nāga balustrade between the third and fourth and the top level. There, the galleries and colonnades define areas for religious ceremonies and rituals performed in and around the main shrine containing the sacred linga. Construction materials The gray and yellow sandstone used for the construction of Preah Vihear was available locally. Wood was used extensively to construct a support for the roof which was covered with terracotta tiles. Bricks, despite their small size, were used instead of large rock slabs to construct the corbelled arches. Bricks were easier to used when building corbelled roofs as they bound together with mortar and were more compact and solid than stone slabs. The sandstone blocks used for the construction of the main tower are exceptionally large, weighing no less than five tons. Several have had holes used for lifting the block drilled in up 24 places. Elements The numbering of the various elements of Khmer temple, its enclosure, courtyards gopura etc., customarily starts from the central sanctuary and works outwards. The gopura nearest the central shrine are given the number 1. In axial temples the last gopura encountered by the visitor will be gopura I and the first, outer gopura the one with the highest number. Here the traditional number is given in brackets. Thus the first gopura encountered is described as the gopura of the first level with its archaeological number given in a brackets( Gopura V). The system is the same one that the archaeologist Parmentier used for his detailed description of Preah Vihear published in 1039. Inscription Several inscriptions have been found at Preah Vihear, the most interesting of which are summarised here. K.383 Known as the Stele of Preah Vihear or Stele of the Divakara, this inscription was written in Sanskrit and Khmer probably between 1119 and 1121. It narrates, by order of Suryavarman II, the life of royal guru Divakara and how he served under five Khmer king (Udayadiyavarman II, Harshavarman III, Jayavarman VI, Dharanindravarman I and Suryaman II), who entrusted him with many gifts, both for himself and to be donated on their behalf to temples. Between the first and second decade of the