The “lost city” of Cambodia has been rediscovered by scientists using an aerial mapping technique known as LiDAR. This city was an ancient settlement that remained hidden in dense jungle for centuries. Mahendraparvata was believed to have been the first capital of the Khmer Empire, which was a powerful Southeast Asian State that used to exist during the Angkor period between the 9th to 15th centuries. The Angkor period had long-eluded archaeologists who knew of its existence but were unable to map it out because of the complex terrain.
The studies of the city were further hindered by landmines that were leftover from the Khmer Rouge who used the location in the Phnom Kulen Highlands as the last stronghold when their rule came to an end in 1979 in the Cambodian-Vietnamese War.
In a newspaper that was published in the academic journal named Antiquity, an international team revealed a definitive reconstruction of the form of the early Angkor-period capital with the help of an airborne laser scanning technique known as LiDAR.
Jean-Bapiste Chevance from the Archaeology and Development Foundation in the UK has said that despite its importance as the location of one of Angkor’s earliest capitals, the mountainous region of Phnom Kulen has received strikingly less attention till date. Preceding the more popular Angkor Wat by over 350 years, the roads, temples and carvings of Mahendraparvata are still being excavated. Their efforts began in 2012 when Damian Evans of the French Institute of Asian Studies in Paris and his colleagues examined the region using lasers from planes and it provided them an incomplete shot of the ruins which made them return in 2015 to scan a larger area alongside a ground-based survey.Mr. Evans spoke to the New Scientist saying that the result gave a complete and detailed interpretation of that city.
The “lost city” was built on a plateau, covering 40 to 50 square kilometers. The team also found that it was positioned out in a grid structure with each square in the grid revealing traces of buildings including temples and grand palaces. Mr. Evans also said that the discovery showed a degree of centralized control and planning and that what they saw at Mahendraparvata spoke of a grand vision and a fairly elaborate plan.
As per a report by Value Market Research, the market is experiencing a speedy growth on account of rising adoption of LiDAR across defense, agriculture and logistics Also, the ongoing R&D activities to develop airborne LiDAR system with more accurate shoreline maps with digital elevation is expected to push the market growth in following years. However, the lack of awareness among potential end-users is likely to hamper the market growth.
Archaeological experts now aim to date the structures. Mahendraparvata, however, does not seem to have been used as the capital for long as its mountainous location turned out to be unsustainable for inhabitants. Besides, the heart of the Khmer Empire seems to have shifted to the city of Angkor which lies to the south on a floodplain and has now become the world-famous 12th century Angkor Wat Temple. It has remained a source of attraction to historians, however, Mr.Evans says that the city may not have lasted for centuries or decades but the cultural and religious significance of the place has lasted right until the present day.
Naira Shekhawat has been into Content Writing just after completing her Graduation in English Literature. Her love for words has won her many accolades in her respective jobs ever since. Naira covers business sections for VMR News. She is a traveller by heart and loves writing on food blogs as a freelancer.