The Unusual Shape of Eim ya kyaung Temple in Myanmar

On the banks of the Ayeyarwady River lies Bagan, Myanmar’s first capital. During its rule from the 9th to the 13th century, more than 10,000 religious monuments were built across 100 square kilometers.    

Although it’s often described as an archaeological site, it is still an active place of worship for the Buddhist community.  

The Eim ya kyaung Temple is one of only sixteen identified temples in Bagan that have a pentagonal shape. 

As well as having five sides, the temple contains five statues of the buddha.

Over time Eim ya kyaung Temple has been heavily damaged, most recently by an earthquake in 2016 that caused significant damage to its exterior. Very few of the murals inside it are still intact.  

CyArk and partners used LiDAR laser scanning and both aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry to document the monument.   

The collected data was used to map the damage from the 2016 earthquake.