Angkor's Disappearance

Angkor is a city found in the forests of Cambodia, and is the remanence of the Khmer Empire. Dating back to the ninth century, this city consists of a variety of temples and was erected in dedication to the Hindu god Vishnu , and was once the largest city in the world. At its peak, Angkor covered over 1000 square kilometres , and the city is surrounded by a series of moats and waterways that were integral to the architecture of the city. There is much debate surrounding the fall of Angkor, but a likely idea is that their waterways were destroyed by monsoons or blocked by sediment from riverbeds. As there are no written records kept about the demise of this city, it can be hard to determine the exact reason that this city was abandoned and is likely to be a combination of many factors . This site is of interest at it has beautiful architecture and design throughout the city and would be somewhere in the world that would be great to visit.
Why is this site/place important in the history of archaeology?
Angkor is one of the largest religious monuments in the world, as the entire city was dedicated to Hindu religion, before later turning Buddhist towards its demise. This city is important in archaeology as it is home to some of the most complex and oldest water systems in the world. However, this waterway system serves to …show more content…
By studying the growth rings in the wood found in the site, it can be possible to date the objects. This is done by comparing the samples taken from Angkor to other samples in the archaeological record. As trees grow at various rates depending on the climate and environmental conditions, some growth rings will be thicker or thinner each year. Dendrochronology is a very precise dating tool as the samples are compared against many others to find a sample with the same growth patterns, and a date can be derived from that