Monday, August 1, 2016

How archaeologists found the lost medieval megacity of Angkor (Angkor Wat )

Via David
My Brother Henry and Wife Jessica

Mother was enthralled by it after Jackie Kennedy visited  and spoke highly of the area.  She wanted to go, but never made it.  My friend Bill and I visited Cambodia for the first time in 1969 and had planned on going after Phnom Penh, but were having such a good time, we decided to wait  until the next time, but unfortunately the Khmer Dau (Rouge) took the area over after the Lon Nol coup.  I did bring back a temple rubbing for Mother and now have it displayed at  Dixieland.




The Tuol Sleng Museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I Have Committed The Mistake Of Believing In Americans 

Kerry And His Mystical Khmer Dau (Rouge)

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The ornate, pinecone-shaped towers of Angkor Wat in Cambodia float above a vast temple complex of shrines, pools, houses, and a perfectly square moat. Today, only a small number of monks remain within the temple walls. The remaining structures have been reclaimed by trees whose roots wind around the stone like cellulose tentacles. Archaeologists have long wondered what life was like here when Angkor was the cosmopolitan heart of the Khmer Empire in the 12th and 13th centuries. Why did so many people abandon this place in the 15th century, never to return?

Unlike a majority of archaeological endeavors, the answers didn't come from digging up the ground. Instead, our first glimpse of Angkor as it once was came just a few years ago from a sophisticated laser scanning machine mounted on a helicopter.

Invisible city

More @ Ars Technica

7 comments:

  1. Sure would be a great visit to explore hidden secrets and
    examine the architecture. Fascinating place filled with
    mysteries. Maybe, Brock, you can go during your return to
    the area in the fall.

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    Replies
    1. Good idea. The Vietnamese visas are only good for three months, so if you want to stay longer, you fly to Phnom Penh to renew, in full hopes that you will return shortly, though that never happens....:) Actually the only sane thing to do is to fly to Phnom Penh, land at the airport, turn in your paper work at the Vietnamese embassy and leave immediately for Ankor Wat before temptations take control of you. :)

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  2. I sure wish you would go so you can take pics of the structure
    outside and inside if allowed. Not a place for silly folks
    but for deep thinkers. A marvelous opportunity.

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    Replies
    1. Lets go! :) I'll ask my brother if he has other pictures.

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  3. Okay, swell. The inside too if available. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've already asked him so we shall see.

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    2. My brother sent me a bunch of pictures, so if you'd like to give me your email, I'll send them to you.

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