SEAArch - The Southeast Asian Archaeology Newsblog

Angkor’s ecological time bomb is discussed in this article, making parallels between the theorised failure of the water management systems to the current pumping of underground water to support the modern city of Siem Reap. The former resulted in the fall of Angkor. Will the later result in the fall of the very monuments themselves?

Development pressures threaten Angkor Wat ruins
AP via CTV.ca, 13 February 2008

By destroying vast tracts of forest to enlarge their farm land, inhabitants of the wondrous city of Angkor lit the fuse to an ecological time bomb that spelled doom for what was once the world’s largest urban area.

So believe archeologists engaged in groundbreaking research into the ancient civilization of Angkor.

And they are warning that history could repeat itself through reckless, headlong pursuit of dollars from tourists flocking to see Angkor’s fabled monuments.

“It’s just a weird cycle. It seems like Angkor is self-repeating itself,” said Mitch Hendrickson, who recently led an excavation as part of research into Angkor as a human settlement.

Read the full story here.

Related books:
- Angkor Cities and Temples by C. Jaques
- Angkor and the Khmer Civilization (Ancient Peoples and Places) by M. D. Coe
- Angkor: Cambodia’s Wondrous Khmer Temples, Fifth Edition by D. Rooney and P. Danford
- Angkor: A Tour of the Monuments by T. Zephir and L. Invernizzi
- The Civilization of Angkor by C. Higham
- The Site of Angkor by J. Dumarcay
- Indochina by B. P. Groslier

Tags: Cambodia archaeology, Fall of Angkor, Siem Reap, Tourism, Water Management

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