The Forgotten Canal: Angkor Wat's Hydraulic Collapse

Angkor Wat is famous for its towering spires, but the real foundation of the Khmer Empire was water. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the vast hydraulic network that sustained Angkor's millions of inhabitants — the barays, canals, and reservoirs that turned seasonal monsoon rains into year-round agricultural bounty. They uncover how the system worked, the engineering brilliance behind the West Baray, and the mounting evidence that a catastrophic failure of this water grid — through siltation, deforestation, and climate shifts — may have triggered the empire's decline. Drawing on recent LiDAR surveys and core samples from the Tonlé Sap floodplain, they piece together a story of hydraulic hubris, environmental tipping points, and a civilization that outgrew its own infrastructure. No previous episode has focused on the collapse of the water system itself, making this a fresh angle on Angkor's fall. #AngkorWat #KhmerEmpire #HydraulicCity #WestBaray #TonleSap #LiDAR #ClimateChange #SuryavarmanII #JayavarmanVII #GreaterAngkorProject #DamianEvans #Siltation #Deforestation #Baray #History #FexingoHistory #SoutheastAsia #AncientEngineering Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo