Angkor Wat's Waterworks: The Hydraulic City

Angkor wasn't just temples—it was a vast urban water machine. In this episode, Lucas and Luna dive into the hydraulic infrastructure that sustained the Khmer Empire: the baray reservoirs, the intricate canal system, the role of the Tonlé Sap's seasonal reversal, and how water management connected to the devaraja cult. They explore the engineering of the West Baray, the East Baray, and the moat of Angkor Wat itself, which mirrored the cosmic ocean. They discuss the theory of collapse tied to water mismanagement, recent LiDAR findings that reveal the scale of the grid, and the ongoing work of the Greater Angkor Project. This is a story of how one of the world's largest pre-industrial cities used water as power—and how that power may have contributed to its fall. #AngkorWat #KhmerEmpire #HydraulicCity #Baray #TonleSap #WaterManagement #LiDAR #GreaterAngkorProject #SuryavarmanII #JayavarmanVII #Devaraja #MountMeru #WestBaray #EastBaray #SoutheastAsianHistory #UrbanPlanning #Collapse #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo