The Water Engineers of Angkor: How the Khmer Tamed a River

This episode dives into the hydraulic engineering that powered the Khmer Empire for centuries. We explore how the Khmer kings built an intricate network of barays (reservoirs) and canals to control the monsoon waters, support intensive rice agriculture, and sustain a population of nearly a million at Angkor. Lucas and Luna discuss the discovery of these water systems by modern archaeologists using LIDAR, the role of the West Baray and the Neak Pean temple, and the controversial theory that the collapse of this water network contributed to the empire's decline. Along the way, they touch on the religious symbolism of water in Hinduism and Buddhism, the engineering challenges of the Tonle Sap floodplain, and the recent findings that challenge old assumptions about Khmer water management. #KhmerEmpire #AngkorWat #HydraulicEngineering #Baray #TonleSap #LIDAR #JayavarmanVII #NeakPean #WestBaray #AngkorThom #WaterManagement #SoutheastAsianHistory #AncientEngineering #Archaeology #ClimateHistory #Collapse #FexingoHistory #History #JayavarmanII #SuryavarmanII Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo