Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing
The Greater Angkor Region was the center of the Khmer Empire from the 9th until the 13th to the 14th centuries CE, when it entered a period of decline. Many studies have suggested that the decline of Angkor was precipitated by several factors, including severe monsoons, geopolitical shifts, and inva...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151891 |
| _version_ | 1811694935849566208 |
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| author | Klassen, Sarah Attorre, Tiago Brotherson, David Chhay, Rachna Johnson, Wayne Moffat, Ian Fletcher, Roland |
| author2 | School of Humanities |
| author_facet | School of Humanities Klassen, Sarah Attorre, Tiago Brotherson, David Chhay, Rachna Johnson, Wayne Moffat, Ian Fletcher, Roland |
| author_sort | Klassen, Sarah |
| collection | NTU |
| description | The Greater Angkor Region was the center of the Khmer Empire from the 9th until the 13th to the 14th centuries CE, when it entered a period of decline. Many studies have suggested that the decline of Angkor was precipitated by several factors, including severe monsoons, geopolitical shifts, and invasions. In this paper, we use light detection and ranging and ground penetrating radar to investigate the possible intersection of two of these existential threats in one feature: the North Bank Wall. Our results indicate that this feature was designed with dual functionality of extending the urban area’s defenses to the east of Angkor Thom while maintaining the existing infrastructure for the distribution and disposal of water. These findings suggest that the North Bank Wall was built before the severe droughts in the mid-13th century. The timing of the construction indicates that the perceived need for additional security—whether from internal factional disputes or external adversaries—predated the final adaptations to the hydraulic network during the unprecedented monsoon variability of the 14th century. These results indicate that perceived political unrest may have played a more important role in the decline of the site than previously known. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:15:29Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/151891 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:15:29Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1518912023-03-11T20:06:40Z Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing Klassen, Sarah Attorre, Tiago Brotherson, David Chhay, Rachna Johnson, Wayne Moffat, Ian Fletcher, Roland School of Humanities Humanities::History Ground Penetrating Radar Light Detection and Ranging The Greater Angkor Region was the center of the Khmer Empire from the 9th until the 13th to the 14th centuries CE, when it entered a period of decline. Many studies have suggested that the decline of Angkor was precipitated by several factors, including severe monsoons, geopolitical shifts, and invasions. In this paper, we use light detection and ranging and ground penetrating radar to investigate the possible intersection of two of these existential threats in one feature: the North Bank Wall. Our results indicate that this feature was designed with dual functionality of extending the urban area’s defenses to the east of Angkor Thom while maintaining the existing infrastructure for the distribution and disposal of water. These findings suggest that the North Bank Wall was built before the severe droughts in the mid-13th century. The timing of the construction indicates that the perceived need for additional security—whether from internal factional disputes or external adversaries—predated the final adaptations to the hydraulic network during the unprecedented monsoon variability of the 14th century. These results indicate that perceived political unrest may have played a more important role in the decline of the site than previously known. Published version This research was generously funded by the Arizona State University School of Human Evolution and Social Change Student Research Grant; Arizona State University Graduate Research Support Grant, Graduate and Professional Student Association, the Office of Graduate Education, and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Affairs; Australian Research Council Grant #DE160100703, Flinders University Research Investment Fund Grant, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Development Grant (430-2019-01057). 2021-10-21T01:50:29Z 2021-10-21T01:50:29Z 2021 Journal Article Klassen, S., Attorre, T., Brotherson, D., Chhay, R., Johnson, W., Moffat, I. & Fletcher, R. (2021). Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing. Remote Sensing, 13(11), 2094-. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs13112094 2072-4292 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151891 10.3390/rs13112094 2-s2.0-85107779116 11 13 2094 en Remote Sensing © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Humanities::History Ground Penetrating Radar Light Detection and Ranging Klassen, Sarah Attorre, Tiago Brotherson, David Chhay, Rachna Johnson, Wayne Moffat, Ian Fletcher, Roland Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title | Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title_full | Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title_fullStr | Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title_short | Deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval Angkor, Cambodia using remote sensing |
| title_sort | deciphering a timeline of demise at medieval angkor cambodia using remote sensing |
| topic | Humanities::History Ground Penetrating Radar Light Detection and Ranging |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151891 |
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