I’m looking at the archaeologists out there to explain to me if, and how, these drains affect the debates over hydraulic control and irrigation during the Angkorean Empire(s). To this layperson, it seems like it could be pretty ding-danged important. You Know Who You Are. And also, via.
Archaeologist inspecting drainage system at the Bayon
TEAM of Cambodian and Japanese archaeologists says it has uncovered an ancient man-made drainage system at the site of the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom.
The temple, built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries during the reign of King Jayavarman VII, has been the subject of three digs since 1999, but this is the first time such a drainage system has been discovered, according to the archeologists.
oh snap! that is a serious call-out. Well, this is a bit later than my research area, but this isn’t very surprising news as the GAP team (Greater Angkor Project) has been doing a lot of work on the hydraulic systems of Angkor. They’ve been showing that Angkor’s water management system was very complex and a collapse of the water management system (related to environmental change as well as probably some political instability) may have been a leading factor in the “collapse” of Angkor.
Here’s some citations:
http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/082/ant0820658.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/18/water-crisis-not-just-riv_n_167846.html
http://acl.arts.usyd.edu.au/angkor/gap/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=205&Itemid=114
sweet! Thanks, Alison!