9 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

New Research Shows Angkor Wat’s Incredible Population Density

Angkor Wat was the grand capital of ancient Cambodia. The population of Angkor Wat, one of the most magnificent cities of the time, was between 750,000 and 900,000. This meant quite a large population density.

For the city, which seemed to be abandoned suddenly in 1431 after AD, researchers say the city was abandoned gradually, not suddenly.

An international team, led by the University of British Columbia, examined three decades of data to create a demographic model of the Medieval city.

This method for modeling urban center development, according to Sarah Klassen and colleagues, could be applied to other premodern cities.

Dr. Sarah Klassen, the lead author of the new paper, said the capital of the  Khmer Empire  represented “one of the largest pre-modern cities in the world, built up over several centuries of growth at different rates.”

This new form of data provides insights not only into the dynamics of rising and fall in ancient settlements but also into the complexities of Khmer social complexity. The report claims that Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, “suffered a slow decline,” and one of the most intriguing features of this study is that it shows how long Angkor Wat was abandoned.

In order to understand the so-called Khmer exodus, the study assessed the densities of people per hectare in the greater Angkor region over time. (C. Pottier, D. Evans and J-B. Chevance /  CC BY-ND )
In order to understand the so-called Khmer exodus, the study assessed the densities of people per hectare in the greater Angkor region over time. (C. Pottier, D. Evans and J-B. Chevance / CC BY-ND )

The new model shows “a gradual and protracted migration of its inhabitants dating back to the start of the 14th century.” Archaeologists and scholars have long questioned whether the kingdom collapsed after the 1431 AD conquest by Thai forces, but the new model reveals “a slow and prolonged exodus of its inhabitants dating back to the start of the 14th century.”

Since the city’s nonreligious architectural structures were made of organic materials that had long since decayed, no systematic demographic analysis of Angkor had ever been completed. According to Klassen and colleagues that this made traditional population size and density measurement techniques impractical.

To solve this obstacle, they created maps that model the city’s development over time using decades of archaeological excavation results, historical archives and maps, recent lidar surveys, and multiple machine learning algorithms.

The researchers discovered that it may have taken generations for Angkor’s population to hit its height, with development happening at varying rates in each of the temple’s three occupation zones. The civic-ceremonial center, which housed the royal residence and huge stone temples, the metropolitan district, and the embankments were among them.

When the researchers compared Angkor’s development to that of other preindustrial tropical and subtropical urban centers, they discovered that its range of metropolitan urban area densities was much smaller than that of the Mayan city of Caracol. Nonetheless, the density of its civic-ceremonial centers was equivalent to that of Teotihuacan in modern-day Mexico or Anyang in China.

The team also shows the abandonment of Angkor Wat as a gradual abandonment rather than a mass Khmer migration.

The findings have been published in the journal Science Advances.

Source: Daily Mail

Related Articles

A huge artificial lake in Sicily is an ancient sacred pool that was aligned with the Stars and used 2,500 years ago, study reveals

17 March 2022

17 March 2022

A sacred freshwater pool on western Sicily’s San Pantaleo Island that dates back some 2,500 years was aligned with the...

5500-year-old city gate unearthed in Israel -the earliest known in the Land of Israel-

15 August 2023

15 August 2023

The Israel Antiquities Authority announced on Tuesday that archaeologists have discovered the earliest known ancient gate in the land of...

A Glorious Temple, inside which Sacrifices Were Performed, was Found in the Sanctuary of Artemis Amarysia on Greek Island of Euboea

13 January 2024

13 January 2024

Archaeologists excavating at the Artemis Amarysia sanctuary in Amarynthos on the Greek island of Euboea have revealed new insight into...

Was Stavanger Cathedral Built on a Viking Settlement?

4 June 2021

4 June 2021

Archaeologists have discovered animal bones and habitation evidence underneath the northern part of Stavanger cathedral that they believe date from...

Refurbishment at the Uffizi Gallery Revealed a Pair of Priceless Lost Renaissance Frescoes

24 April 2021

24 April 2021

A couple of construction workers discovered two Renaissance-era treasures while working on an extensive renovation project at Florence’s world-famous Uffizi...

Archaeologists find new clues about North Carolina’s ‘Lost Colony’ from the 16th century

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers...

Research Uncovers the Parthenon’s Spectacular Lighting Effects for Athena in Antiquity

9 May 2025

9 May 2025

A four-year multidisciplinary study led by Oxford University Archaeologist Professor Juan de Lara has shed new light on a millennia-old...

Archaeologists unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla in Türkiye

11 March 2024

11 March 2024

Archaeologists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of body perforation in skeletons dating back 11,000 years at the Boncuklu Tarla...

USF team discovers 2,000-year-old Roman house during excavation in Malta

8 August 2023

8 August 2023

A team of researchers and students unearthed a 2,000-year-old Roman house in Malta, complete with a waste disposal system and...

Ancient Murals of Two-faced Figures Found in Peru

21 March 2023

21 March 2023

Archaeologists are reporting a number of fascinating discoveries as work on the excavations at Pañamarca progresses that are helping to...

In Switzerland, a Roman amphitheater was discovered during the construction of boathouse

21 January 2022

21 January 2022

Archaeologists from Aargau Cantonal Archaeology have announced the discovery of a Roman amphitheater in Kaiseraugst, located in the canton of...

The Discovery of a Bronze Age Game Board in Azerbaijan Challenges the Origin of One of the World’s Oldest Games

30 August 2024

30 August 2024

A new archaeological study revealed that an ancient board of a game, known as “Hounds and Jackals” or the “Game...

Roman influence period artifacts discovered by history enthusiasts in northern Poland

16 March 2024

16 March 2024

Local history enthusiasts from the Wendrusz Historical and Exploration Society have discovered four fibulae, a ring, and fragments of decorations...

Earliest Direct Evidence of Psychoactive Plant Use in Iron Age Arabia Identified in Tomb at Qurayyah

25 May 2025

25 May 2025

In a remarkable archaeological breakthrough, scientists have uncovered the earliest known use of the psychoactive plant Peganum harmala—commonly known as...

Evidence of a Roman shrine dating back was discovered during dig at Leicester Cathedral

7 March 2023

7 March 2023

Excavations by the University of Leicester archaeologists for have uncovered evidence that the site of Leicester Cathedral has been used...