Lost Cities of the Angkor Empire
Siem Reap in Cambodia is the gateway to the millennium old temple ruins of the Khmer city of Angkor. The Angkor Archaeological Park comprises dozens of temple ruins including Bayon, Banteay Srei, Preah Rup, Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm and the legendary Angkor Wat. Further away from these main temple complexes are many other unique and fascinating temples which were all important during the height of the Khmer Kingdom. These temples include Beng Mealea, Koh Ker and Preah Vihear in the far north on the border between Cambodia and Thailand.
The artistic and archaeological significance and visual impact of these temples place them in a class with other wonders of the world such as the Pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal.
From the 9th century to the 15th century the Khmer Kingdom was at its height and dominated large parts of South East Asia and a number of cities within this kingdom became the capital over the centuries. The first city of Angkor was Yasodharapura in the late 9th century. At the beginning of the 10th century the kingdom split and Jayavaraman IV established a new capital at Koh Ker. Extensive temple building took place thereafter in the Angkor area and in the 12th century the largest temple of Angkor, Angkor Wat, was built. At its heart the capital city of Angkor was, in its time, the most extensive urban complex of the world and had as many as three quarters of a million people living there. In today’s perspective the city covered around 400 square miles, an area equivalent to the five boroughs of New York City.
The city of Angkor rose to success through the ingenious manipulation of the seasonal rains resulting from the construction of a complex water system comprising reservoirs, dams and irrigation channels. Though plenty of water was available during the rainy season, the large reservoirs or barays that were constructed allowed control over precious water resources during the dry season and during periods of drought.
This technology provided a continuous and predictable supply of water and plentiful food which resulted in the successful growth and development of the city. This vast complex of waterways however required a high level of maintenance and this, combined with possible unusual weather conditions, may have caused the ultimate demise of this once great civilisation.
Like other high technology civilisations such as the Incas, Aztecs and Egyptians the City of Angkor declined in a dramatic disappearing act.
Henry Mouhot, a French naturalist and explorer, and who made numerous expeditions to Siam, Cambodia and Laos, was instrumental in the “re-discovery” of the Angkor temples in 1858. Other western explorers had however visited this area years before Mouhot and there are records of Portuguese monks and traders visiting in the late 16th century.
The great city and temples remained largely cloaked by dense jungle until the late 19th century when French archaeologists began a long restoration process. From 1907 to 1970 work was under the direction of the Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient, which cleared away the forest, repaired foundations, and installed drains to protect the buildings from water damage. Work resumed after the end of the Cambodian civil war and, since 1993, has been jointly co-ordinated by the French and Japanese and UNESCO through the International Co-ordinating Committee on the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), while Cambodian work has been carried out by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA).
In the Angkor region we are left today with an incredibly rich legacy of temple complexes, some restored but many still hidden and overgrown by trees and creepers. These mystical tumbledown temples of Angkor can only hint at the level of sophistication and complexity of the Khmer Kingdom and the wondrous Lost Cities of the Angkor Empire.
Read MoreThe artistic and archaeological significance and visual impact of these temples place them in a class with other wonders of the world such as the Pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal.
From the 9th century to the 15th century the Khmer Kingdom was at its height and dominated large parts of South East Asia and a number of cities within this kingdom became the capital over the centuries. The first city of Angkor was Yasodharapura in the late 9th century. At the beginning of the 10th century the kingdom split and Jayavaraman IV established a new capital at Koh Ker. Extensive temple building took place thereafter in the Angkor area and in the 12th century the largest temple of Angkor, Angkor Wat, was built. At its heart the capital city of Angkor was, in its time, the most extensive urban complex of the world and had as many as three quarters of a million people living there. In today’s perspective the city covered around 400 square miles, an area equivalent to the five boroughs of New York City.
The city of Angkor rose to success through the ingenious manipulation of the seasonal rains resulting from the construction of a complex water system comprising reservoirs, dams and irrigation channels. Though plenty of water was available during the rainy season, the large reservoirs or barays that were constructed allowed control over precious water resources during the dry season and during periods of drought.
This technology provided a continuous and predictable supply of water and plentiful food which resulted in the successful growth and development of the city. This vast complex of waterways however required a high level of maintenance and this, combined with possible unusual weather conditions, may have caused the ultimate demise of this once great civilisation.
Like other high technology civilisations such as the Incas, Aztecs and Egyptians the City of Angkor declined in a dramatic disappearing act.
Henry Mouhot, a French naturalist and explorer, and who made numerous expeditions to Siam, Cambodia and Laos, was instrumental in the “re-discovery” of the Angkor temples in 1858. Other western explorers had however visited this area years before Mouhot and there are records of Portuguese monks and traders visiting in the late 16th century.
The great city and temples remained largely cloaked by dense jungle until the late 19th century when French archaeologists began a long restoration process. From 1907 to 1970 work was under the direction of the Ecole francaise d’Extreme-Orient, which cleared away the forest, repaired foundations, and installed drains to protect the buildings from water damage. Work resumed after the end of the Cambodian civil war and, since 1993, has been jointly co-ordinated by the French and Japanese and UNESCO through the International Co-ordinating Committee on the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC), while Cambodian work has been carried out by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA).
In the Angkor region we are left today with an incredibly rich legacy of temple complexes, some restored but many still hidden and overgrown by trees and creepers. These mystical tumbledown temples of Angkor can only hint at the level of sophistication and complexity of the Khmer Kingdom and the wondrous Lost Cities of the Angkor Empire.
