Angkor: Ancient Khmer hydraulic networks revealed by lidar

Recent lidar surveys and archaeological studies have revealed the immense scale and engineering complexity of the ancient Khmer capital at Angkor. While the stone temples like Angkor Wat and the Bayon are the most visible landmarks, airborne lidar technology has allowed researchers to map a vast, interconnected urban landscape hidden beneath the forest canopy.

The surveys have identified thousands of features, including roads, reservoirs, canals, ponds, and settlement mounds, spanning approximately 400 to 1,000 square kilometers. This sophisticated hydraulic network served as the circulatory system for the empire, managing water across a landscape defined by extreme monsoon seasons and long dry periods. This infrastructure supported a massive population, estimated at nearly a million people, by facilitating food production and movement across the region.

The findings suggest that the Khmer Empire engineered an entire metropolitan environment rather than just isolated religious monuments. The integrated system of embankments, moats, and waterworks demonstrates a highly advanced understanding of landscape management that sustained successive royal centers between the ninth and fifteenth centuries.