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SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA, June 8, 2004: Up until recently archaeologists were focused on studying the carvings on the stone walls of Angkor City’s temples that depict Hindu mythologies. The articles elaborates, “Angkor City, the capital of several Hindu kings who ruled over large swaths of Southeast Asia, flourished from the 9th to the 14th centuries, leaving a legacy of architectural splendor in its myriad of temples, including the country’s cultural icon, Angkor Wat.” Scientists from Australia’s University of Sydney and the Cambodian government’s Apsara Authority have collaborated to undertake a study of Angkor city’s infrastructure and the reasons the city failed to support a population that reached 750,000. The article says, “Project members are working on the theory that Angkorians created an elaborate system of reservoirs and canals — for irrigation, trade and travel — that began to silt up as the population grew, and perhaps saw failures that caused flooding and water shortages.” Damian Evans, an archaeologist working on the project who uses aerial photos, NASA images and on-the-ground investigations to generate a computer map of the water system, says, “The more modifications they made, the more problems they ran into, and the harder and harder it became to implement solutions to the problems.” Evans compared Angkor’s canals to today’s freeways and old elephant paths equating a modern city’s telephone lines. Thus scientists feel that as the population of Angkor grew, so did the strain on the intricate water system. When the water management system failed the city’s population was forced to move to nearby areas. The common theory about the downfall of Cambodia’s greatest city indicates that, “Temple-studded Angkor was dealt a death blow with its final sacking in 1431.” This new study may prove that other factors contributed to Angkor City’s downfall.

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