the gateway there is
frequently a hall supported by columns but open at the sides.

All known specimens of Cham architecture are temples; palaces and
other secular buildings were made of wood and have disappeared. Of the
many sanctuaries which have been discovered, the most remarkable are
those of Mi-son, and Dong Duong, both in the neighbourhood of Tourane,
and Po Nagar close to Nhatrang.

Mi-son[340] is an undulating amphitheatre among mountains and contains
eight or nine groups of temples, founded at different times. The
earliest structures, erected by Bhadravarman I about 400, have
disappeared[341] and were probably of wood, since we hear that they
were burnt (apparently by an accident) in 575 A.D. New temples were
constructed by Sambhuvarman about twenty-five years later and were
dedicated to Sambhu-bhadresvara, in which title the names of the
founder, restorer and the deity are combined. These buildings, of
which portions remain, represent the oldest and best period of Cham
art. Another style begins under Vikrantavarman I between 657 and 679
A.D. This reign marks a period of decadence and though several
buildings were erected at Mi-son during the eighth and ninth
centuries, the locality was comparatively neglected[342] until the
reign of Harivarman III (1074-1080). The temples had been ravaged by
the Annamites but this king, being a successful warrior, was able to
restore them and dedicated to them the booty which he had captured.
Though his reign marks a period of temporary prosperity in the annals
of Champa, the style which he inaugurated in architecture has little
originality. It reverts to the ancient forms but shows conscious
archaism rather than fresh vigour. The position of Mi-son, however,
did not decline and about 1155 Jaya Harivarman I repaired the
buildings, dedicated the booty taken in battle and erected a new
temple in fulfilment of a vow. But after this period the princes of
Champa had no authority in the district of Mi-son, and the Annamites,
who seem to have disliked the religion of the Chams, plundered the
temples.

Po-nagar[343] is near the port of Nha-trang and overlooks the sea.
Being smaller that Mi-son it has more unity but still shows little
attempt to combine in one architectural whole the buildings of which
it is composed.

An inscription[344] states with curious precision that the shrine was
first erected in the year 5911 of the Dvapara age and this fantastic
chronology shows that i