Residential patterning at Angkor Wat

Abstract

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.

Imaging the Waters of Angkor: A Method for Semi‐Automated Pond Extraction from LiDAR Data

“…Finally, the presence of numerous, densely‐distributed ponds within the temple enclosures, including Angkor Wat, supports the view that the temples were inhabited places (e.g. Stark et al ., in press).…”

Airborne laser scanning as a method for exploring long-term socio-ecological dynamics in Cambodia

“…On the one hand, airborne laser scanning technology is able to provide centimetrelevel detail on the signature spatial patterning of neighbourhoods and individual households Stark et al, 2015), which offers us the possibility of 'scaling up' very finegrained data from focussed excavations to create demographic models for vast urban areas. On the other hand, landscape-scale data can be used to assess the degree to which massive hydraulic infrastructure afforded a degree of resilience to smaller-scale disturbances (e.g.…”

3D-Stereoscopic Immersive Analytics Projects at Monash University and University of Konstanz

“…In 2013, archaeological surveys [16] confirmed a grid pattern of roads and household ponds beneath the forests within the temple confines [17]. This project explores the use of an immersive virtual environment to visualize how the Angkor Wat complex might have operated almost a millennium ago.…”