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"Angkor Wat (Angkor)"
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Ancient engineering. Secrets of Angkor Wat
Temples, designed to honor the Gods, have been at the heart of cities since earliest times. Often they have been the biggest and most impressive buildings of their age. But mysterious ancient temples crop up across the ancient world. Why are so many of these monuments carefully aligned with the sun?
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Temple occupation and the tempo of collapse at Angkor Wat, Cambodia
The 9th–15th century Angkorian state was Southeast Asia’s greatest premodern empire and Angkor Wat in the World Heritage site of Angkor is one of its largest religious monuments. Here we use excavation and chronometric data from three field seasons at Angkor Wat to understand the decline and reorganization of the Angkorian Empire, which was a more protracted and complex process than historians imagined. Excavation data and Bayesian modeling on a corpus of 16 radiocarbon dates in particular demand a revised chronology for the Angkor Wat landscape. It was initially in use from the 11th century CE with subsequent habitation until the 13th century CE. Following this period, there is a gap in our dates, which we hypothesize signifies a change in the use of the occupation mounds during this period. However, Angkor Wat was never completely abandoned, as the dates suggest that the mounds were in use again in the late 14th–early 15th centuries until the 17th or 18th centuries CE. This break in dates points toward a reorganization of Angkor Wat’s enclosure space, but not during the historically recorded 15th century collapse. Our excavation data are consistent with multiple lines of evidence demonstrating the region’s continued ideological importance and residential use, even after the collapse and shift southward of the polity’s capital. We argue that fine-grained chronological analysis is critical to building local historical sequences and illustrate how such granularity adds nuance to how we interpret the tempo of organizational change before, during, and after the decline of Angkor.
Journal Article
Heritage, history and heterotopia at Angkor Wat Review of: The second volume of Michael Falser, Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage, Berlin/Boston Walter de Gruyter, 2020
Falser’s voluminous, richly illustrated and meticulously researched book deals with the colonial and postcolonial history of the twelfth century Khmer monument, Angkor Wat. Covering the 150 years (1860 to 2010) history of the temple, spanning Europe and Asia, it sets out to show how the monument and its reputation were made, unmade and re-made in Europe as well as in Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as culture, science and politics became entwined. In Falser’s words, ‘This book project investigates the temple’s material traces and architectural forms as well as the literary and visual representations of the structure, with a view to analysing global processes of transfer and translation as well as the recent proliferation of hybrid forms of art, architecture and cultural heritage.’
Journal Article
The Geometrical Relationship Between Ancient Hindu Technical Treatises and the Planning and Organization of Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture, built by King Sūryavarman II during the 12th century A.D. Jane Przyluski hypothesized that Angkor Wat was the tomb of King Sūryavarman II. On the other hand, George Cœdès thought that Angkor Wat complex was habitation in the form of a celestial palace. According to Henri Parmentier, though the buildings and constructions in Angkor Wat temple complex are majestic, they are geometrically out of place. The temple complex is non-symmetrical, as the complex’s center is left-aligned. The above controversial opinions inspire a deep examination of the geometric system of the architectural and structural design of Angkor Wat. This research investigates the architectural planning and frame structures of Angkor Wat stone temple complex using a Hindu grid system. The study was based on field survey data of the temple complex and Hindu ancient texts, specifically the Vāstu Śāstra. PhotoModeler Pro5 and Polycam for iOS-4.0.5 were utilized to render three-dimensional (3D) images of the entire temple complex. The analysis finds the geometric code (suitable module) used in the planning of 2.75 m × 2.75 m in the metric system (1 Phyeam 1 Hat 1 Thnob in) the local Cambodian measuring system). The geometric code (2.75 m × 2.75 m) highlights the design diagram and construction of the temple complex. The research also unveiled the use of a center-shifting technique where the vertical axis running through the center is deliberately left-aligned, to avoid numerical fractions occurring in the grid modules. The technique gives rise to the asymmetry of the temple complex. The findings led to understanding the symbolic meaning of spatial organization of the layout and plan of Angkor Wat design, which was meant to be a suitable residence for the god on earth, the king, and his citizens. Moreover, it also means the final abode of King Sūryavarman II after his death, represented by the image of Lord Viṣṇu.
Journal Article
Residential patterning at Angkor Wat
Considerable attention has been devoted to the architecture and art history of Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple in the last century. There has, however, been little research on the functions and internal organisation of the large rectangular enclosure surrounding the temple. Such enclosures have long been assumed to have been sacred precincts, or perhaps ‘temple-cities’: work exploring the archaeological patterning for habitation within them has been limited. The results of LiDAR survey and excavation have now revealed evidence for low-density residential occupation in these areas, possibly for those servicing the temple. Recent excavations within the enclosure challenge our traditional understanding of the social hierarchy of the Angkor Wat community and show that the temple precinct, bounded by moat and wall, may not have been exclusively the preserve of the wealthy or the priestly elite.
Journal Article
Angkor Wat
Cambodiaʼs ancient temple complex Angkor Wat was built during the 12th century by the Khmer ruler Suryavaram II. Originally a Hindu temple dedicated to Vishnu, it was adapted for use as a Buddhist shrine during the following century by King Srindravarman. During the 1980s the Indian government started restoration work at the site and in 1992 UNESCO recognised Angkor Wat as a World Heritage Site. The United Nations body also helped fund further restoration work.
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